A federal Judge, Judge Vyskocil has ruled that a woman who accused Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of sexually assaulting her cannot proceed with her lawsuit under a pseudonym.
According to the Judge, the rapper has a right to defend himself, hence must know the plaintiff.
“The fundamental question is whether Plaintiff has a ‘substantial privacy’ interest that ‘outweighs the customary and constitutionally-embedded presumption of openness in judicial proceedings,” Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wrote in an opinion Wednesday, adding, “Defendants have a right to defend themselves, including by investigating Plaintiff, and the people have a right to know who is using their courts.”
Judge Vyskocil said the lawsuit has to be filed under her original name by November 13 or it will be dismissed.
The judge said that Combs is entitled to know the plaintiff’s identity to enable him investigate her claims.
“Counsel’s assertions that Defendants need not know Plaintiff’s identity to file an answer and conduct discovery strain credulity,” she wrote.
The Tennessee woman filed a lawsuit as a Jane Doe against Combs and others earlier this month, alleging he raped her in 2004 when she was 19 years old.
The Doe lawsuit is one of more than a dozen filed since Combs’ arrest on sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges in September by John or Jane Does who are represented by the same attorneys. The cases are individually filed and before different judges, but the ruling could impact a number of those cases.
