It looks like Diddy isn’t taking the recent $100 million default judgement against him lying down.
For context, just three days ago, a Detroit inmate named Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith won the monumental judgement in accordance with a civil sexual assault suit he reportedly filed against Diddy. As the news began to circulate online however, the “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper’s lawyers asserted that Diddy had never even heard of this suit until that day and that Cardello-Smith had committed fraud on the court.
“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,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement sent to The Root on Thursday. “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.”
Now, it seems the Bad Boy mogul’s legal team has filed an emergency motion to set aside the “default and default judgment” and a “motion to dissolve temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.”
In their motion to set aside the default and default judgment, Diddy’s legal team cites two major reasons:
1. Cardello-Smith’s alleged history of filing “frivolous lawsuits,” with the disgraced music producer describing this latest one as “objectively unbelievable and incoherent.”
2. The lack of legal service of process with the team alleging that Diddy was never properly served the suit — which is in violation of Michigan Court Rule 2.105(A). As a result of that, they argue that “the court does not have personal jurisdiction over Mr. Combs, making the entry of default and the default invalid.”
They go on to add that even if Diddy had been served, the default judgement would have to be dismissed due to the fact that his delay in taking immediate legal action is excused since he just learned about the suit three days ago. They also note that Diddy has “meritorious defenses:” that the claims in Cardello-Smith’s suit are “fabricated,” Diddy has denied all allegations in a sworn affidavit, the statute of limitations are expired, and the totality of circumstances.
As for the motion to dissolve temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, Diddy’s lawyers argue that Cardello-Smith is not entitled to injunctive relief because Diddy was never served with a copy of the Complaint, the injunction motion or injunction order. As a result, the order violates his constitutional rights. They also echo previous claim of the court lacking jurisdiction and added that Cardello-Smith doesn’t have “equitable interest in the subject party.”
“This is a frivolous lawsuit against a prominent businessman, based on obvious fabrications, filed by a convicted rapist and serial litigant with an overactive imagination and a thirst for fame,” an excerpt from the preliminary statements read in part.
The Root will continue to update this story.