Topline
A man who accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting him at a party almost 30 years ago has won a $100 million default judgment in a civil lawsuit against the music producer and entrepreneur, the Detroit Metro Times first reported.
Sean "Diddy" Combs attend on May 14, 2018 in New York City.
Key Facts
Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, a 51-year-old inmate in Michigan, was granted a temporary restraining order against Combs and in June filed a civil lawsuit claiming he was drugged and then sexually assaulted by the star at a party in 1997.
Because Combs failed to appear for a hearing in the case Monday, a Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge awarded Cardello-Smith a $100 million default judgment and set a payment schedule of $10 million per month, starting October 1, according to Variety.
Cardello-Smith, who is described by the Detroit Metro Times as having a "long history of challenging the judicial system with civil lawsuits,” told the paper Combs visited him at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility and offered him $2.3 million to settle the lawsuit out of court (he said he denied the offer).
Combs, who has been hit with half a dozen lawsuits in the last year claiming sexual misconduct, has denied the allegations against him.A legal representative for Combs did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment Tuesday.
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Key Background
Combs has been accused by several women since November of sexual misconduct and assault, all of which he has denied. The allegations span decades, the earliest dating back to the early 1990s when two people claimed they were either raped or sexually assaulted by Combs. His ex, singer Casandra Ventura, said she was raped and subjected her to a years-long abusive relationship during the decade they were linked together, ending in 2018. Ventura settled her $30 million lawsuit against Combs the day after it was filed. In February, music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a bombshell lawsuit that accused Combs of trying to groom him into having sex with another man, running a "sex-trafficking venture" and throwing house parties where would recruit women and underage girls to perform sex acts for money. Combs moved to dismiss that lawsuit last month.
