Diddy Prevails In Court As Judge Strikes Most Of Sarah Rivers' Lawsuit Claims With Prejudice

Weeks after being cleared of the most serious charges in his sex crimes case, Sean "Diddy" Combs has secured another legal win in one of the many civil lawsuits he continues to face.

The music mogul and several others were sued in February by "Making the Band 2" star Sara Rivers on a number of charges, including assault and battery and sexual assault.

Rivers was seeking $60 million in damages from Sean "Diddy" Combs, but on August 14, the presiding judge dismissed most of the charges with prejudice.

Diddy has landed a major victory in a lawsuit filed against him by singer Sarah Rivers earlier this year.

At the time, Rivers named Diddy and several other individuals, including his mother, Janice, in a 148-page lawsuit featuring 22 counts.

Some of the accusations detailed in the lawsuit alleged that Diddy sexually assaulted her, overworked her without pay, and subjected her to assault and battery, verbal abuse, and inhumane working conditions.

One allegation in particular detailed how Diddy allegedly cornered her during a visit to his studio and ran his hand across her breasts, leaving her in shock and disbelief.

Rivers' allegations stem from her time working with the rapper on his early 2000s reality show "Making the Band 2," a music competition series focused on forming Diddy's hip-hop group, Da Band.

Unfortunately for Rivers, the presiding judge, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, dismissed 21 out of the 22 charges she filed in a ruling on August 14.

The charges were also thrown out with prejudice, thereby preventing Rivers from filing the same claims at a later time.

The one claim that remains is listed in the filing as a gender-motivated violence charge, alleging that Diddy violated the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act when he allegedly sexually assaulted Rivers.

The act allows survivors of gender-based violence in New York to file civil lawsuits against their perpetrators or institutions that may have facilitated the abuse in any way.

Although Rivers' claim fell outside the standard filing period of within nine years after the incident, she was permitted to file it under a two-year lookback window for time-barred claims.

It was introduced by the New York City Council in December 2022 and was set to expire in the same month Rivers filed her suit.

Regarding the claim, Judge Rakoff ruled that he won't make a ruling pending a decision from an appellate court on the parameters of the law.

Despite the loss, Rivers doesn't intend to give up on her claims against Diddy and has plans to appeal.

"We plan to appeal — and we look forward to more litigation specifically against Mr. Combs," her attorney shared with TMZ.

As for Diddy's legal team, they are satisfied with the ruling from the court after previously slamming Rivers' claims as "false" and "meritless."

"From the outset, we have said these claims were meritless, time-barred and legally deficient," Diddy's attorney, Erica Wolff, said in a statement to USA TODAY.

She added, "The court agreed, finding no legal basis to allow them to proceed. We are pleased the court carefully analyzed and swiftly dismissed these baseless claims."

In addition to Rivers, several other "Making the Band" alumni have spoken out against Diddy.

According to U.S. Weekly, Dawn Richard, who was a member of Danity Kane from the show's third installment, claimed that Diddy once burst into her dressing room and touched her inappropriately.

She also alleged that on different occasions, he locked her in a car for two hours and once forced her to rehearse for 48 hours straight until she became dehydrated and fatigued.

Another Danity Kane member, D. Woods, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Diddy was emotionally and verbally abusive during the time the band worked with him.

"He did it in different ways with all of us, you know, picking and prodding and just a way to chip and knock away, but then praise you," she said on the show in January 2025.

"Somebody constantly treating you like a piece of meat," Woods added.