How these New York City laws opened the door for Cassie and more to sue Diddy
How these New York City laws opened the door for Cassie and more to sue Diddy
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Diddy denies 1991 assault claims; legal team responds
A California woman has accused Sean "Diddy" Combs of allegedly drugging and assaulting her when she was a college student in 1991.
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New York's highly cited Adult Survivors Act, which gave victims of sexual abuse a one-year window for claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits, is a key factor in the civil lawsuits filed against Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The act, which expired in November 2023, led to an avalanche of complaints and lawsuits filed in its final days, with figures including Combs and his former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre, Jamie Foxx, Axl Rose, Russell Brand, Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine, music executive L.A. Reid, Cuba Gooding Jr. and more sued for sexual assault ahead of the deadline.
More than 2,500 lawsuits were filed under the law. And not all of the suits were against entertainment figures; the large majority were filed against the state of New York, New York City and local counties and involved allegations of abuse at state prisons and local jail systems.
Over a dozen were filed by Wigdor LLP, a New York-based law firm, partner Douglas Wigdor previously told USA TODAY. The attorney behind Cassie Ventura's lawsuit against Combs, a woman's lawsuit against Iovine and Julia Ormond's suit against Harvey Weinstein, Wigdor said one reason so many lawsuits against people in the entertainment industry came out in the last few days of the law was because of the publicity Ventura's case had received.
"I think that our case, involving Sean Combs, really got a lot of publicity. And people read about the Adult Survivors Act, and I think that provided impetus for people to come forward even though there were only a few days to do so," he told USA TODAY in a November 2023 interview. "And so, my hope is that at some point, they'll extend the ASA again, which is a possibility. And so that way other people can come forward."
He said at the time that public perception could change the entertainment industry in response to credible sexual misconduct claims.
"With at least Cassie's case, from what I observed, she received almost uniform support for coming forward," Wigdor said. "When someone has evidence and support and a story that resonates as being truthful, the public is very receptive to holding people accountable for these heinous acts."
Combs has denied all the allegations against him, and he's pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
What is the Adult Survivors Act?
The act, signed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Nov. 24, 2022, was modeled after a previous New York law offering people abused as children a temporary window to file claims. Under the new iteration, adults were able to file a lawsuit against their abusers regardless of when the abuse occurred.
Wigdor said similar laws – including New York City's Gender Motivated Violence Act, which had a look-back period that expired in February 2025, and California's Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, for claims occurring between 2009 and 2019, and expires in 2026 – could be another means for victims to receive justice.
Adult Survivors Act: Why so many sexual assault lawsuits have been filed under New York law
Wigdor shared hope that similar laws would be enacted in other cities and states, such as Washington, D.C. "I don't think politicians should be immune from these sorts of cases," he said.
One of the first Adult Survivors Act cases filed after the window opened was against former President Donald Trump. His accuser, writer E. Jean Carroll, was awarded $5 million after Trump was found liable for the 1996 sexual abuse. Trump has denied the allegation.
What is the Gender Motivated Violence Act?
New York City's Gender Motivated Violence Act allows survivors of gender-based violence to file civil lawsuits against their alleged abusers or those who facilitated the abuse, if the incident occurred in New York City. The typical timeframe to file a claim is nine years from the time of abuse, but in December 2022, a two-year "lookback window" was introduced.
Lawsuits under the act had a deadline of Feb. 28, 2025.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs hit with lawsuits under Adult Survivors Act, Gender Motivated Violence Act
The first lawsuit filed against Combs under the Adult Survivors Act and the Gender Motivated Violence Act was from R&B singer Cassie.
The November 2023 lawsuit alleged that Cassie, who began a professional and sexual relationship with the rap mogul when she was 19, was trafficked, raped and viciously beaten by Combs over the course of a decade.
Combs and Cassie reached a settlement one day later.
Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex crimes charges
A second lawsuit was filed by Joi Dickerson-Neal under both acts less than a week later, on Nov. 23, 2023. The lawsuit alleges that the then-college student was sexually assaulted and abused by Combs in 1991 and that she was the victim of "revenge porn." Combs videotaped the January 1991 assault and distributed the tape to others in the music industry, according to the suit.
A third lawsuit was filed the same day under the Adult Survivors Act, by a woman now identified as Liza Gardner, who claimed Combs and Guy singer Aaron Hall took turns raping her and a friend after meeting the pair at an MCA Records event in either 1990 or 1991, when she was 16 years old.
The fourth lawsuit filed against Combs, as well as Bad Boy Entertainment and its former president, Harve Pierre in December 2023, was under the Gender Motivated Violence Act. Pierre, who worked with Bad Boy since its inception in 1993, was accused by a former employee – now identified as Anna Kane – of using "his position of authority" as her boss "to groom, exploit, and sexually assault her."
Many of the other nearly 70 civil lawsuits filed against Combs now also cite the Gender Motivated Violence Act.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
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