One of the many lawsuits against Diddy for alleged sexual assault could result in a key legal precedent for his other cases on the docket, according to court documents reportedly obtained by AllHipHop. Moreover, it concerns a lawsuit from former model Crystal McKinney, who claims that he sexually assaulted her in 2003 at his Daddy's House recording studio after a New York Fashion Week event, an alleged incident that she claims ruined her marriage. However, Sean Combs denies these allegations, and his legal team is now trying to dismiss the case.
This is due to the seemingly expired statute of limitations (in other words, it being too long since the alleged assault occurred to pursue legal action) and due to the defense's claim that there isn't enough evidence to support these allegations. Crystal McKinney's lawsuit against Diddy came earlier this year under a two-year revival provision from 2022 for New York City's Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law (VGM). This allowed for individuals who previously faced an expired statute of limitations to pursue legal action for old alleged incidents.
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As such, Crystal McKinney maintained her belief that this revival provision solidifies her legal right to sue. But according to these court documents reportedly obtained by AllHipHop, one of Diddy's attorneys fought back against this notion. Erica A. Wolff shared that the VGM provision is "preempted" by the State of New York's Adult Survivor's Act (ASA), which provided a similar revival window for old alleged incidents that closed in November of last year. "State law takes precedence over city law," Wolff posited. "McKinney’s claims expired in 2010. And nothing within the ASA’s timeframe allows these expired claims to be brought to court now."
With this in mind, Diddy's defense team claims that Crystal McKinney's complaint became "time-barred." What's more is that the court's ruling on this after deliberation in upcoming weeks could set a precedent for other lawsuits against the Bad Boy mogul. If they dismiss this case without prejudice, then various similar lawsuits regarding the statute of limitations, plus state and city laws, could also face dismissal on these grounds.