Sean 'Diddy' Combs attending a 2018 Fox event in New York City. Photo / Getty Images
Warning: mention of physical and sexual abuse
Sean “Diddy” Combs has lost another legal battle, with a judge ruling on Monday that that music mogul must pay US$100 million ($162m) for a sexual assault claim by a 51-year-old Michigan man.
The lawsuit alleged that in 1997, while at a party in Detroit, Combs drugged and sexually assaulted Derrick Cardello-Smith.
Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone ruled on Monday, in favour of Cardello-Smith, and Combs – who did not appear at the September 9 virtual hearing – has been ordered to pay US$10 million monthly from October 1 in the default judgment.
“The judgment could be the largest awarded to a non-attorney and a currently incarcerated inmate in history,” reports Detroit Metro Times.
Cardello-Smith, currently incarcerated at Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility for an unrelated crime, is a self-taught student of civil and criminal statutes, the Times explains, and Cardello-Smith told the outlet he and Combs, 54, go “way back”.
In August Cardello-Smith was granted a restraining order against the rapper, whose name was reportedly logged in the prison’s visitation record.
“Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit,” Combs lawyers said in a statement to the Times.
It’s the latest in a series of allegations and lawsuits against the rapper and entrepreneur, many of which were made this year under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which for a one-year period suspended statute of limitations on sexual offences to give victims the chance to file suits regarding historic claims. The window closed on November 24, 2023.
Combs long-term partner Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a lawsuit in November 2023 alleging he physically abused her. The case was settled a day after filing.
In May 2024 footage from a security video showing the star assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016 was aired by CNN, and Combs released a video apology (since scrubbed from his Instagram) saying his actions were “inexcusable” and he was “truly sorry”.
In February a 73-page, US$30 million lawsuit was filed in New York against Combs, accusing the star of human trafficking.
His homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided in March by US Homeland Security as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation. Following the raids Combs claimed he was the victim of a “witch-hunt” and a statement by his lawyer accused law enforcement of “a gross overuse of military-level force”. The rapper’s sons King, 25, and Justin, 30, were handcuffed during the raid. Combs was not home, and was seen at Miami airport soon after.
In November 2023 a court filing claimed Combs had threatened to “blow up” Kid Cudi’s car, which exploded in his driveaway “around that time” according to court documents. Combs denied the allegations.
In December Combs was sued by a woman who claimed she was raped by Combs and two other men when she was 17, with the incident taking place at Daddy’s House Recording Studio (a studio owned by Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment) in New York City. In May, Combs asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, which he alleged was “false” and filed too late under law.