In a small but likely welcome win for Sean “Diddy” Combs, a Michigan judge has set aside a $100 million default judgement against the rapper in a case in which he’s accused of sexually assaulting a now-inmate.
The judgement was originally handed down last week after Combs, 54, did not respond to Michigan inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith’s lawsuit. The suit accuses Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting Cardello-Smith in 1997 after the two met at a party in the Detroit area.
Comb’s attorney argued his client was never properly served the lawsuit in accordance with Michigan law.
The rapper will likely now motion to have the case dismissed. Judge Anna Marie Anzalone noted during Wednesday’s hearing that Combs is likely to win the case since the statute of limitations had expired, according to TMZ.
Cardello-Smith, who is housed at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in western Michigan, is serving up to 75 years for first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping charges from 2008 and 2019.
Combs meanwhile was arrested on Monday in New York City and hit with federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He was ordered to be held without bail and transferred to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
His attorney appealed and asked that bail be set at $50 million, which a judge denied on Wednesday.
The disgraced hip-hop mogul is facing a number of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse and trafficking.