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A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by Dawn Richard, former member of Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money. dismissed for sexual abuse and breach of contract against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The ruling comes more than a year after Richard filed her civil lawsuit against Combs in September 2024. In a 55-page lawsuit, the singer accused the music mogul of groping her several times, of once locking her in a locked car for two hours as punishment and of threatening to kill her.
In a ruling Friday, June 12, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismissed all 18 counts of Richards v. Combs – in part on the grounds that most of the claims are outside the statute of limitations. However, the judge ordered that the first count – the centerpiece of the lawsuit, an alleged violation of New York City’s law protecting victims of gender-motivated violence – be dismissed without prejudice, allowing Richard to refile the lawsuit in state court.
Judge follows the law
“The Court’s decision in this matter is independent of its disapproval of the statements of facts, which, if true, are abhorrent,” Judge Polk Failla wrote in her order. “The court is of course obliged to follow the law.”
In a statement to ROLLING STONE, Richard’s attorney Arick Fudali, partner and managing attorney at The Bloom Firm, said they plan to refile the lawsuit. “We fully agree with the judge that the allegations made in this case are abhorrent,” Fudali said. “We are encouraged and look forward to pursuing our primary claim under the Gender Motivated Violence Act in state court in New York City, pursuant to the judge’s decision. We will fight for Dawn until justice is achieved.”
A spokesman for Combs did not immediately respond to ROLLING STONE’s request for comment, but told Billboard that “the allegations in this lawsuit have made headlines around the world for some time. Today’s decision to dismiss the case is an important reminder that allegations are not findings and that courts are designed to examine claims according to established legal standards.”
From “Making the Band” to Bad Boy
Richard met Combs while auditioning for his hit MTV series Making the Band and formed the popular group Danity Kane with Aubrey O’Day, D. Woods, Aundrea Fimbres and Shannon Bex. On the season finale of “Making the Band 4” in 2008, Combs broke up the band at the height of their success by firing O’Day and Woods. Still, Combs kept Richard in the bad boy family by including her in his newly formed trio Diddy-Dirty Money – alongside singer Kalenna Harper.
From 2004 until her musical collaboration with Combs ended in 2012, Richard said she witnessed dozens of disturbing incidents surrounding the Bad Boy founder – including Combs insisting on holding meetings in her underwear, groping her breasts and “bare buttocks,” and subjecting her to his demeaning and sexist comments.
Richard claimed that Combs once tried to hit her when she asked him not to call her a slut. But before Combs “could meet her,” one of his bodyguards grabbed her and pushed her into one of Combs’ cars. Richard said she was locked alone in the ice-cold car for two hours and was unable to leave the vehicle because there were no interior door handles. Only after she called her father, who then rushed to the studio and asked Combs to release her, was she allowed to leave. Combs later reportedly told Richard, “You don’t call your dad unless you’re in the hospital.”
Witness at the criminal trial
Richard also claimed to have witnessed Combs become physically violent toward his then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura – something Richard testified about in Combs’ criminal trial last summer.
Combs was arrested in September 2024 on charges of racketeering conspiracy and human trafficking for sexual exploitation. He was acquitted of the more serious charges, but found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution. He is currently serving a 50-month sentence at Fort Dix Prison in New Jersey. His expected release date is set for the end of February 2028, according to the Bureau of Prisons.