A civil lawsuit filed against the disgraced music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs by an anonymous man from California, who alleged the rapper drugged and sexually assaulted him in 2015, was dismissed by a Manhattan judge on Wednesday because the statute of limitations has expired. Yet the plaintiff’s attorney, who is also handling about 150 other alleged victims planning to sue the rapper, said the fight is far from over.     

“It’s been reported as a big victory for Mr. Combs but this is obviously not the case,” the Houston-based attorney, Anthony Buzbee, told the Sun on Thursday, later adding that “this is a very, very long road.”  

Mr. Combs, who is awaiting his sentencing hearing, was found not guilty on racketeering and sex-trafficking charges earlier last month and convicted on lesser charges related to prostitution. But he faces a myriad of civil lawsuits, accusing him of sexual offenses such as assault, harassment, and battery. He denies all allegations.

Mr. Buzbee’s client, a man from California known as John Doe, alleges that in 2015, when he was 23 years old and an aspiring singer, Mr. Combs, who was twice his age, attended his concert in a nightclub at Los Angeles. After the show, the lawsuit claims, Mr. Combs gave the young singer a spiked drink that clouded his awareness. When the alleged victim regained consciousness, he found himself in a room where Mr. Combs and others were engaging in sexual activities. According to his lawsuit, Mr. Combs then forced the man to perform unwanted sexual acts, and threatened to ruin his career if the man refused. 

The lawsuit, which was filed at New York, was dismissed on Wednesday by a Manhattan supreme court justice, Leslie Stroth, because she found the accusation was “untimely under New York law.”

In 2015, the year of the alleged misconduct, New York state law provided a five-year statute of limitations. In 2019 that statute was extended to 20 years, which led Mr. Doe to bring his suit. But Judge Stroth argued that though the law was “later amended,” it did not apply to Mr. Doe’s allegations because they occurred prior to the amendment, writing that the law itself was “not retroactive.”

“We disagree with her conclusion with all due respect.” Mr. Buzbee said. His client may file a motion to reconsider, he said, “because that’s one of the mechanisms we have before an appeal to point out where we think the judge might’ve gotten it wrong.”  

In her decision, the judge further found that her ruling also applied to California. “Because the action is untimely under both New York and California law, it must be dismissed as to all defendants,” Judge Stroth concluded, according to the decision obtained by the Hollywood Reporter.  

“The court making commentary about California’s statute limitation is obviously something we will look at and review,” Mr. Buzbee told the Sun, adding that he is also considering refiling the case in California. 

“We’re gonna continue to press forward,” he said. “There’ll be victories and there will be losses, but ultimately there’s gonna be a trial so that’s what we’re pushing forward for.” 

There are about 150 other alleged victims, Mr. Buzbee said, who want to file lawsuits against the rap star. About half of these accusers, he told the Sun, are women and the other half are men. Some of the alleged victims are as young as age 9. 

During a press conference in October 2024, Mr. Buzbee, who was standing in front of a large banner printed with a sexual assault helpline number, told reporters that “most of these events and incidents occurred at parties, typically after parties, or album release parties, New Year’s Eve parties, Fourth of July parties, something they call the puppy party, the all white parties.” He added that “several of these events occurred at auditions,” especially the allegations from younger people “wanting to break into industry.” Mr. Combs, his accusers say, promised to turn them into music stars in return for sexual favors. 

“The press conference and 1-800 number that preceded today’s barrage of filings were clear attempts to garner publicity,” Mr. Combs’s attorneys told TMZ.

After federal prosecutors indicted Mr. Combs in September 2024 on sex-trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and prostitution charges, the flood gates opened and civil lawsuits started pouring in.  

“I would say that some cases were referred to me,” Mr. Buzbee explained. He said that lawyers referring clients to him had led to creation of the hotline, where the alleged victims can call to state their claims. He empathized that these calls are carefully screened by his team, which includes a retired police detective.    

But Mr. Buzbee is not the only one filing lawsuits. Earlier in August, another judge dismissed the $60 million civil lawsuit brought against Mr. Combs by a “Making the Band 2” contestant, Sara Rivers, also because he ruled the statute of limitation had run out. Ms. Rivers had accused Mr. Combs of inappropriately touching her breast at his recording studio at New York. She further alleged assault and battery, sexual harassment, and a hostile work environment. The judge dismissed 21 of 22 claims, arguing the lawsuit had been filed 10 years too late. 

While Mr. Combs’s attorneys may celebrate such victories, their client has been behind bars since his arrest in September 2024. His numerous requests to get released on bail have all been denied as recently as August 5, as the Sun reported. 

Mr. Combs is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3.