Macy’s Asks to Be Dropped From Diddy Intercourse Lawsuit

• Macy’s desires a decide to take away it from a sexual assault lawsuit towards Sean “Diddy” Combs.
• The go well with says Macy’s violated a gender-violence legislation by ignoring an assault on the Herald Sq. retailer.
• The plaintiff himself describes Diddy as “an equal alternative sexual predator,” Macy’s argues.

Macy’s desires to be eliminated as a defendant in a sexual assault lawsuit towards Sean “Diddy” Combs — and their arguments for dismissal embody calling the rap entrepreneur “an equal alternative sexual predator.”

The October lawsuit accuses Macy’s of violating a New York Metropolis gender-violence legislation by protecting up an alleged assault by Combs on a male worker on the Herald Sq. flagship retailer in 2008.

The worldwide division chain argues the plaintiff, solely recognized as John Doe, can not accuse Macy’s of gender bias as a result of, in the exact same lawsuit, Doe himself describes Combs as prepared to assault each women and men.

“Plaintiff’s personal allegations set up not solely that this was a same-sex assault, however that Mr. Combs sexually assaulted each women and men, with out regard to gender,” the Macy’s attorneys argued in courtroom papers final week.

“Plaintiff doesn’t handle the truth that his personal allegations set up that Mr. Combs was an equal alternative sexual predator.”

A spokesperson for Combs declined to touch upon Macy’s argument, as a substitute referring BI to his personal movement to dismiss the case towards himself and his firms, filed Tuesday.

His movement additionally challenges the applicability of New York’s gender-violence legislation. Combs has repeatedly denied any sexual assaults.

“Mr. Combs denies the solely false and salacious claims towards him within the Grievance and is assured that he and the Firm Defendants (towards whom no misconduct or participation is even alleged) can be absolutely vindicated if this case had been to proceed to trial,” his dismissal movement mentioned.

District Courtroom Choose J. Paul Oetken’s determination on whether or not to dismiss Macy’s may come at any time. A choice on Combs’ dismissal bid is just not due till someday after the plaintiff responds.

Macy’s is the deepest-pocket defendant by far in any of a blizzard of greater than 30 sex-assault lawsuits filed towards the rapper up to now 12 months.

The plaintiff says in his lawsuit that on the time of the alleged assault, he was working at Macy’s flagship Manhattan retailer for Ecko, a rival hip-hop style model to Combs’ Sean John Clothes.

His 19-page lawsuit alleges that he was working in a stockroom when Combs entered with three armed bodyguards who struck him and threatened to kill him.

Combs then orally raped him within the stockroom, whereas calling him “Ecko” and taunting, “You want that, white boy?” the lawsuit alleges. After what was alleged to be a two-minute assault, Combs then grabbed armfuls of Sean Jean clothes, left the stockroom together with his bodyguards, and proceeded handy out garments to buyers “as if nothing had occurred,” the lawsuit claims.

The plaintiff alleges that the chain did nothing to assist him when he got here ahead together with his allegations towards Combs, and as a substitute fired him to guard a multimillion-dollar cope with Sean Jean.

In preventing to be dropped as a defendant, attorneys for Macy’s argued that the lawsuit doesn’t allege retailer staff had been in any approach concerned within the assault.

Macy’s attorneys additionally pointed to the New York Metropolis Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Safety Legislation. The attorneys for the person had argued of their lawsuit that the gender violence legislation entitled their consumer to hunt damages from Macy’s.

Macy’s countered that the legislation doesn’t allow claims towards companies for assaults previous to 2022, and that the lawsuit failed to supply any proof that the alleged violence was motivated by gender bias.

Combs’ alleged “white boy” taunt doesn’t check with gender bias, Macy’s attorneys argued in papers signed by lawyer Daniel Kotler.

The phrase “boy” in that state of affairs “features primarily as a time period of standing and belittlement (boy versus man) fairly than as a gendered remark (boy versus lady) — it’s in impact an inversion of the classically racist use of the time period ‘boy’ to degrade or belittle African People,” Macy’s facet argued.

Kotler didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark for this story.

Buzbee, the lead lawyer for the plaintiff, counters in courtroom papers that the New York gender-violence legislation does cowl companies concerned in assaults previous to 2022. He additionally argues that “the truth that Combs violently assaulted folks of each genders doesn’t someway exempt him” from the legislation.

“A fairly novel argument that ought to fail,” Buzbee informed Enterprise Insider on Tuesday of Macy’s dismissal arguments.