Rodney Jones, also known as Lil Rod, who accused Bad Boy Records mogul Diddy of sexual assault, has withdrawn several high-profile defendants from his lawsuit.
The initial lawsuit had claimed that Universal Music Group (UMG) and its chairman, Sir Lucian Grainge, had played a role in aiding and abetting Diddy in his alleged sexual abuse.
Jones, a producer who contributed to Diddy’s 2023 LP, The Love Album: Off the Grid, decided to withdraw these names following threats of legal action. The claims against Grainge, UMG, and Motown Recordings have been unfairly dismissed, meaning they cannot be refiled.
Lil Rod’s attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, stated in a sworn declaration filed in court that he found no legal basis for the claims and allegations made against the UMG defendants after examining all the papers submitted supporting both motions to dismiss.
He concluded that the appropriate course of action was immediately withdrawing all the claims and allegations.
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Previously, Grainge, UMG, and Motown had sought to dismiss the case, arguing that all the claims against them lacked any legally cognizable basis.
They contended that every claim was based on the untenable strict liability theory, which states that the payor under a commercial contract becomes liable for anything the recipient of payment does with the payment.
They asserted that no law supported such a theory and that the claims against the UMG defendants were entirely devoid of legal merit.
UMG was also named in a lawsuit filed by a Jane Doe, who accused Diddy of raping her in the early 1990s when she was just 16. They also petitioned to be removed from that suit. They stated that while the complaint’s allegations were disturbing, the plaintiff made no allegation supporting vicarious liability for battery or assault.
They also argued that the plaintiff’s claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress failed because she had not alleged any duty owed to her by UMGR, nor did she allege that UMGR’s conduct was extreme and outrageous, as required for legal sufficiency.
