Diddy Wins Another Civil Case: Judge Dismisses John Doe Sexual Battery Lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs keeps on winning in court.

Two months after he was mostly cleared at his blockbuster criminal trial, the hip-hop mogul won a ruling Tuesday dismissing a civil lawsuit accusing him of drugging and sexually battering a 23-year-old man at an afterparty in 2015.

A Manhattan judge said the case, lodged in February, was filed well after the statute of limitations had expired in either state that might apply: “Because the action is untimely under both New York and California law, … it must be dismissed as to all defendants.”

Tony Buzbee, the lawyer who represents the unnamed John Doe plaintiff, told Billboard on Wednesday that the ruling would not end the case: “I wouldn’t call this a victory for Mr. Combs, at all,” Buzbee said. “We won’t allow Mr. Combs to escape a trial on the merits due to a technicality.”

The ruling is the second big legal win for Diddy in the wake of his criminal case verdict. Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed a $60 million lawsuit filed by Making the Band 2 contestant Sara Rivers – a ruling that similarly said that case was filed far too late.

Those civil cases were just two of dozens filed against Combs over the past two years alongside his blockbuster federal criminal case. Even after beating two of them, many others remain pending before other judges.

Combs was largely acquitted last month in the criminal case, which accused him of forcing girlfriends to partake in drug-fueled sex marathons with prostitutes called “freak-offs.” Jurors found him not guilty on racketeering (RICO) and sex-trafficking charges, though they did convict him on two counts of interstate prostitution. He’s currently in jail, awaiting sentencing in October that could see him sent to prison for several years.

The case dismissed on Tuesday accused Combs of drugging and assaulting John Doe – “a music performer pursuing a career as a rapper and sing” – at a 2015 afterparty at Los Angeles’ QC’s 20/20 club. The victim said he drifted “in and out of consciousness” after drinking a spiked drink, then awoke to find Combs groping him and believed the star “had been performing oral sex on him.”

But in the ruling dismissing the case, the judge said Doe had only five years to file his case. Though a law was passed in 2019 that extended the statute of limitations to 20 years, the judge said that law did not apply retroactively.

“While Plaintiff contends that [the newer law] applies and affords him a 20-year period to file this action, this argument fails,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiff’s claim, filed in 2025, remains untimely under New York law.”

The accuser cited California state law as an alternative, arguing the state’s so-called lookback window for sexual assault claims allowed him to sue. But the judge rejected that argument too: “The court concludes that the claim is untimely under California law as well.”

In his statement to Billboard on Wednesday, Buzbee said the ruling was “just another step in the process” and vowed to bring continue to litigate the claims against Combs in a different venue.

“The retroactive ability of the NY statute at issue was an open question. The court in New York has answered that question,” Buzbee said. “As with many cases like this one, we will refile it in California where the alleged assault occurred.”