Latest news with #Wigdor
NBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- NBC News
NBA star James Harden accused of negligence in sexual assault lawsuit against his nephew
LA Clippers star player James Harden has been accused of negligence in a lawsuit that claims a woman was raped by his nephew while she was unconscious after a New Year's Eve party at his Texas house last year. Harden's nephew, Justice Armani Blackburn, is accused of sexual assault against Marisa Watley, 40, in a civil complaint filed in Texas on Monday by law firm Wigdor and co-counsel Ellwanger Henderson. The lawsuit alleges that security guards hired by Harden could have prevented the alleged rape and that he is "vicariously liable for the actions of his guards and their corporate employer." It names Harden, Blackburn, and an unknown number of unidentified security guards as defendants, listed as 'security guards 1-10,' and their unidentified employer. Watley is seeking more than $100,000 in damages and wants a jury trial. Representatives for both Harden and Blackburn were contacted for comment. Neither has responded publicly to the allegations. "Plaintiff Marisa Watley was brutally raped by Defendant Justice Armani Blackburn following a New Years Eve party at Defendant James Harden's mansion home," the complaint says. According to the lawsuit, filed in the Harris County District Clerk District, Watley's friends had allegedly told the security team that she appeared to be missing in the house and that the guards were aware that women were passed out from intoxication throughout the house. "Nonetheless, Mr. Harden's security team recklessly failed to protect Ms. Watley on Mr. Harden's property — and the result was a sexual assault from which she will suffer indefinitely," the lawsuit says. Watley, a real estate agent, said in a statement: "Since New Year's Day, when I reported the rape by Mr. Blackburn to the police, I have remained puzzled by how Mr. Harden's security behaved that day — it is painful to imagine that this all could have been stopped in time. I hope this complaint pushes security employees generally to act more responsibly when women are in danger." The complaint says she now speaks with a heavy stutter due to the "severe trauma" of the alleged rape. The lawsuit says that Watley and two friends met at a restaurant on New Year's Eve before going to a party at a nearby club. At about 3:30 a.m., they allegedly saw Harden in a VIP area and learned of a party at his house. The three women took an Uber to his house — the complaint says Watley thought they were going to a friend's apartment — where an armed security guard checked their IDs and told them to go to the recording studio inside, the lawsuit says. There, the lawsuit says, Blackburn gave all three women a drink that caused them to pass out. The lawsuit says that Watley's memory from this point "becomes extremely hazy" as she faded in and out of consciousness. "The next thing Ms. Watley recalls is being shocked into consciousness while lying face down on a bed with a man behind her having aggressive sex with her," the lawsuit says. Watley alleges that after this, a security guard told her to leave. The lawsuit says her two friends had already been told to leave and were locked out despite telling security guards that their friend and some possessions were still inside. The lawsuit says they were allegedly told no women were in the house, but the friends soon saw more women leaving. Watley's two friends had her iPhone and were able to contact her sister through her emergency contacts at 10:44 a.m., who then called the police. The lawsuit alleges that it wasn't until after 1:29 p.m. that Watley emerged. Her attorneys, Michael J. Willemin and John S. Crain from Wigdor, and Jay Ellwanger and Kaylyn Betts of Ellwanger Henderson, said in a joint statement that Watley showed "great strength and courage" in reporting the allegations. "This rape was immediately reported to the police, and we will bring Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Harden to justice through the civil justice system," they said.
USA Today
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
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 Show Caption Hide Caption 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. unbranded - Entertainment 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: (4673) and and en Español
Reuters
06-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Leon Black's lawsuit against rape accuser's ex-law firm is dismissed
March 6 (Reuters) - A New York state appeals court on Thursday dismissed, opens new tab billionaire investor Leon Black's lawsuit against the Wigdor law firm and its former client Guzel Ganieva over their failed case accusing him of defamation and rape. New York's Appellate Division, First Department said Wigdor and Ganieva can recoup attorney fees from Black under the state's anti-SLAPP law, which is meant to deter lawsuits that are designed to punish defendants for speaking out on public issues. Black, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, failed to show there was a "substantial basis" for his malicious prosecution claim against Wigdor and Ganieva, the appeals panel said. "This is now the second lawsuit that Leon Black has brought against Wigdor that has been dismissed," Wigdor partners Douglas Wigdor and Jeanne Christensen said in a statement. "Unfortunately, being a billionaire buys access to our court system and lawyers who attempt to silence sexual assault survivors through SLAPP lawsuits," they added. Susan Estrich, a lawyer for Black, said they plan to appeal and "believe that Wigdor has and continues to engage in malicious prosecution." Wigdor and Christensen said they are "exploring the possibility of seeking compensatory and punitive damages under NY's anti-SLAPP law against all appropriate defendants." The lawsuit from Ganieva, a Russian model, claimed Black defamed her by falsely claiming she tried to extort him after accusing him of rape. Black denied the allegations. Ganieva fired Wigdor as her legal counsel in March 2023. Five months later, Black sued Wigdor, claiming the firm's business model is based on threatening "to sue defendants with scandalous allegations that can be avoided only at the cost of a large settlement, of which Wigdor takes a substantial cut." In September, a New York state judge denied Wigdor and Ganieva's requests to dismiss the case, finding that Black's allegations of malicious prosecution were sufficient for his lawsuit to proceed for now. The appeals court's Thursday ruling overturned that decision. A Wigdor spokesperson said another lawsuit Black filed against the firm and Ganieva — a 2022 case alleging claims of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and tortious interference — should also be dismissed in line with the appeals court ruling. Ganieva's lawsuit against Black was dismissed after a New York state judge ruled she could not pursue her defamation claims against Black after receiving $9.5 million from him under a nondisclosure agreement that followed their six-year relationship. A state appeals court upheld the dismissal in January.
