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Earlier this week, a judge awarded Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, 51, a prisoner currently being housed in the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Michigan, a default judgment of $100 million in a lawsuit filed against Sean Combs, AKA Diddy.
Cardello-Smith, who claimed in his lawsuit that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party in Detroit in 1997, also claimed in a preliminary court hearing that Diddy offered him $2.3 million dollars to dismiss his lawsuit.
Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone, who ordered Combs to pay the prison inmate and set up a payment plan, issued the default judgment when Diddy failed to appear at a virtual hearing on the lawsuit on Monday.
Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Sean Combs, claimed in a statement following the judge’s ruling that Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith committed “a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit” and that “Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.”
On Thursday, Combs’ attorney filed an emergency motion to set aside default and default judgment and a motion to dissolve temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
“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,” the court filings state.
“Defendant, who was never served with this lawsuit, learned about Plaintiff and this action for the first time three days ago, when media outlets reported that this Court had entered a $100 million default judgment against him.
“Had the Complaint been served (and it was not), it would nonetheless be subject to swift dismissal on the merits: If every (wholly implausible and obviously fabricated) allegation in the Complaint were true, the action would still be completely non viable because the statute of limitations on the claims asserted expired almost 17 years before the case was filed.”
Diddy’s lawyers also have pointed out that Cardello-Smith has a history of filing frivolous lawsuits against public figures.
On Tuesday, the day after Judge Anna Marie Anzalon’s ruling, Dawn Richard of Danity Kane filed a lawsuit against Diddy, becoming the eighth person to accuse the rapper of sexual assault.
Back in March, Department of Homeland Security agents along with local law enforcement agencies performed raids on Sean Combs’ homes in Miami, Florida, and New York City.
Sean Combs has denied all allegations and has yet to be charged with any crimes.