A federal judge granted a request from rapper Jay-Z to file a motion to dismiss a lawsuit by an anonymous plaintiff accusing him and fellow rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs of rape.
Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, has until Feb. 6 to file his motion to dismiss, according to court documents filed Thursday. The team for the Jane Doe plaintiff will then have until Feb. 28 to file opposition papers.
The plaintiff sued Mr. Carter and Mr. Combs, who is in federal custody awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution to which he has pleaded not guilty, under the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law.
The New York City law allows victims of sexual abuse, assault and similar offenses to file civil lawsuits against the alleged perpetrators. Mr. Carter’s attorney Alex Spiro argued in a filing Monday that the law does not apply and that the case should be dismissed.
Mr. Spiro also argued that the law only applies within the boundaries of New York City, and said that, since the accuser mentioned a 20-minute drive from Radio City Music Hall to a “large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway,” that the alleged offense did not occur within the area covered by the VGMVPL.
Ms. Doe, who was 13 at the time of the alleged incident, admitted to NBC News in December that there were some “inconsistencies” in her initial accusations; she said her father picked her up afterward but he does not recall doing so, and photos of Mr. Carter and Mr. Combs from the night in question were taken at a place dissimilar to the white residence she had described.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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