The attorney for a woman accusing Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual assault opted to “gloss over” factual inconsistencies in the then-13-year-old’s account and “did not even meet” with the woman prior to filing a civil lawsuit, Carter’s attorney argued Wednesday in a new court filing that asks the judge to impose legal sanctions.
In the latest salvo in an ongoing war of words between lawyers, Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, “fails to identify any evidence that corroborates anything his client alleged” and “has litigated this matter for three months without seeking admission” to federal court in New York, where the lawsuit is filed.
The anonymous plaintiff accused Carter of raping her at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, which he denies. The complaint alleged Combs also raped her at the same party while an unnamed celebrity watched. Combs has also denied the allegations.
Buzbee has accused Carter and Spiro of having a “histrionic” response to the lawsuit and said he conducted a rigorous investigation.
Spiro said Buzbee deserves to be sanctioned because of his “studied detachment” from mandatory diligence and ethical practice.
“Mr. Carter seeks only to hold Mr. Buzbee to the ethical standards that constrain any responsible attorney who would solemnly sign his name to allegations in court. Without such guardrails on litigation, there is obvious, worrisome risk: Someone in Mr. Buzbee’s position could level reputation-destroying allegations indiscriminately in court, with an eye towards leveraging them in sensationalist fashion outside of court, without ever properly inquiring into their truth or facing accountability,” Spiro wrote.
Buzbee has countered that it is Spiro who is deserving of sanctions. The judge has yet to rule.
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