DIDDY files motion to vacate $100M default judgement in assault lawsuit pushed by Michigan Inmate

Friday, September 13, 2024 - Hip Hop Mogul, Diddy has filed a motion to overturn a $100 million default judgment in a sexual assault lawsuit brought by a Michigan inmate.

On Thursday, September, 12, Combs, 54, filed an emergency motion to vacate a default judgment, and a motion to dissolve a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, per court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

This comes after he lost the $100 million default judgment in Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith's lawsuit against him due to his failure to attend a virtual hearing on Monday, Sept. 9. Judge Anna Marie Anzalone awarded Cardello-Smith the multi-million dollar judgment in Lenawee County Circuit Court.

In his request for Judge Anzalone to vacate the default judgment, Combs' attorneys said that Cardello-Smith is a "convicted felon who is serving time in prison for kidnapping and sexual assault."

They claim that Cardello-Smith has frequently filed "frivolous" claims in the past, and his allegations that Combs sexually assaulted him in 1997 "are objectively unbelievable."

Combs' legal team also argues that the Bad Boy Records founder was not properly served in Cardello-Smith's lawsuit, so the default judgment is invalid under Michigan Court Rule 2.105(A).

Combs' motion alleged that he was unaware of the lawsuit until the news concerning the $100 million default judgment was reported in the media.

His attorneys allege that any delay he had in responding was unintentional. Once Combs became aware of the lawsuit, he quickly filed the motion to vacate the ruling, the court papers stated.

The filing also alleges that Cardello-Smith's allegations, which Combs has denied in a sworn affidavit, are fabricated, implausible and full of "inconsistencies and fantastical claims," such as Cardello-Smith's claims that he invested $150,000 for 49% of Combs' net worth.

The court papers also said the default judgment should be vacated, calling the $100 million award "extraordinary and incompatible with any possible measure of actual damages even if every (facially implausible) allegation in the Complaint were true" as Combs "did not receive notice of the lawsuit" until Monday.

Combs' attorneys noted that even if Cardello-Smith's claims were true, the statute of limitations ended in 2007, so they should be dismissed.

Combs also filed a motion to dissolve a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction, reiterating that Cardello-Smith is not owed injunctive relief and Combs' constitutional rights were violated since he was not served with the complaint. They said the judgment was improper because Cardello-Smith didn't claim he had an equitable interest in the property, but instead said he could be awarded a monetary judgment against Combs. The Michigan Supreme Court has previously determined that this isn't enough to authorize relief in the injunction order, per Combs' motion.

Combs' lawyers say the court doesn't have jurisdiction over Combs as a signature on a return receipt is not his.

Cardello-Smith filed a complaint against Combs in June. In August, he was granted a temporary restraining order that blocked Combs from selling assets that could be “used to compensate Cardello-Smith for possible damages," The Detroit Metro Times reported.

In a court hearing later that month, Cardello-Smith claimed that Combs came to see him in prison and offered him $2.3 million to dismiss the lawsuit, according to the Guardian.

In his lawsuit, Cardello-Smith alleged he met Combs in 1997 during an afterparty at a Holiday Inn in Detroit. The two got a private hotel with two women when Combs allegedly groped Cardello-Smith's buttocks while the latter was having intercourse with one of the women. Cardello-Smith also alleged that Combs drugged him and sexually assaulted him.

Marc Agnifilo, an attorney for Combs, addressed the lawsuit in a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 10, saying, “This man is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years. His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.”