Suits and Litigation (Civil)

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    Shannon Sharpe Settles Lawsuit Accusing Him of Rape

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    A lawyer for the woman, who had sought $50 million in damages, said both sides acknowledged a “consensual and tumultuous relationship.”Shannon Sharpe, the podcast host, sports media personality and former N.F.L. star who was accused of rape by a former sexual partner, has settled her lawsuit for undisclosed terms, according to the woman’s lawyer.The lawyer, Tony Buzbee, said on social media on Thursday that both parties agreed that the sexual relationship was consensual, and that the lawsuit would be dismissed.The woman, who filed the complaint anonymously, had sought $50 million in damages. Mr. Sharpe’s lawyer has said that before the lawsuit was filed, he had discussed offering her at least $10 million.“Both sides acknowledge a long-term consensual and tumultuous relationship,” Mr. Buzbee said in a statement. “After protracted and respectful negotiations, I’m pleased to announce that we have reached a mutually agreed upon resolution. All matters have now been addressed satisfactorily, and the matter is closed.”Mr. Buzbee did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Mr. Sharpe, 56, declined to comment.The woman, who is described as being in her early 20s, filed a lawsuit in April claiming that Mr. Sharpe had raped her in her apartment on two recent occasions. Lanny Davis, a lawyer who was representing Mr. Sharpe at the time, denied the allegations and released graphic text messages that he said depicted a “consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language, and fantasy scenarios explicitly requested” by the woman, whom he named.Mr. Sharpe won three Super Bowls as a tight end with the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens and has become a media personality since his retirement after the 2003 season. His interview-based podcast “Club Shay Shay” grew in popularity after an episode last year with the comedian Katt Williams, and he is also a commentator on “First Take,” ESPN’s morning debate show.But Mr. Sharpe has not appeared on ESPN since April, when he announced he would step back until the start of the N.F.L. preseason to deal with what he called “false and disruptive allegations.” An ESPN spokesman declined to comment regarding Mr. Sharpe’s status.Throughout the legal process, Mr. Sharpe continued to host “Club Shay Shay” and his secondary podcast, “Nightcap.” More

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      Jane’s Addiction Members Sue One Another After Onstage Fight

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      The rock band’s singer confronted its guitarist during a show last year, leading to the cancellation of its reunion tour.Members of the rock band Jane’s Addiction are suing one another after an onstage physical altercation led to the cancellation of the remainder of last year’s reunion tour.Jane’s Addiction, which formed in 1985 and is perhaps best known for the MTV hit “Been Caught Stealing,” was performing in Boston when the singer Perry Farrell confronted the guitarist Dave Navarro. A video showed Mr. Farrell slamming his shoulder into Mr. Navarro and appearing to throw a punch before he was physically restrained.The encounter in September abruptly ended the first tour by the band’s original members in 14 years. The fallout continued on Wednesday when they filed dueling lawsuits in Los Angeles Superior Court.Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins — the band’s bassist and drummer — joined Mr. Navarro in a lawsuit accusing Mr. Farrell of assault, battery, emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. Mr. Farrell and his wife, Etty Lau Farrell, responded with a complaint against the men that alleges assault, emotional distress and breach of contract.Christopher Frost, a lawyer for Mr. Navarro, Mr. Avery and Mr. Perkins, said in a statement that Mr. Farrell’s actions left the rest of the band on the hook for an unfulfilled tour and record deal. “They have been wronged, want the accurate story told and they deserve a resolution,” he said.Mr. Farrell’s legal team said in a statement that the band’s lawsuit was a clear example of its desire to isolate and bully him. “It’s a transparent attempt to control the narrative and present themselves as the so-called ‘good guys’ — a move that’s both typical and predictable,” the statement said.The lawsuit led by Mr. Navarro said the band had suffered a “swift and painful death at the hands of Farrell’s unprovoked anger and complete lack of self-control.” It also claimed that Mr. Farrell’s behavior failed to meet the band’s standards.“Perry forgot lyrics, lost his place in songs he had sung since the 1980s and mumbled rants as he drank from a wine bottle onstage,” the lawsuit said.After the onstage fight last year, the band canceled the 15 remaining dates of its North American tour. Mr. Navarro said on social media that “the mental health difficulties of our singer” were to blame, while Mr. Farrell apologized to his bandmates, saying that his “breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior.”Mr. Farrell offered more details in his lawsuit, saying that his bandmates had participated in a yearslong “bullying campaign” against him that included harassing him onstage.During performances, the lawsuit said, his bandmates would try to undermine him by playing their instruments so loudly that he could not hear himself sing. More

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      ‘Diddy Parties’ Became a Meme. The Combs Case Was About Something Else.

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      The sweep of graphic lawsuits accusing Sean Combs of sex abuse led to a sense that his criminal case might examine celebrity debauchery in the music industry. It did not.Before the music mogul Sean Combs went to trial on sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges this year, an avalanche of lawsuits had already cast him as a brazen, A-list supervillain, capable of almost anything.In dozens of cases, many filed anonymously, Mr. Combs was accused of sexual assaults across decades, some of them said to have involved druggings at well-attended, star-studded parties and industry events. The accusers included men and women, and more than a dozen said they were minors at the time they were assaulted.Mr. Combs’s lawyers have vehemently denied the abuses alleged in the suits, most of which are still working their way through the civil court system. But the sheer volume of complaints fueled speculation that the criminal prosecution of Mr. Combs could expose a shadowy underworld of celebrity depravity, and perhaps the enabling behavior of music industry executives.The trial of Mr. Combs, 55, turned out to be something else entirely.While filled with graphic details of explicit sex, the case that ended last week centered on a narrow, private sphere of Mr. Combs’s life. The sexual encounters at issue took place on small stages: isolated hotel rooms and homes. These were not orgies where Mr. Combs interacted openly with celebrities and music honchos, but discrete encounters with long-term girlfriends and typically a single male escort.That these sessions involved voyeuristic sex that stretched over hours, even days, while Mr. Combs watched, masturbated and filmed, was without question salacious. But given the length of the investigation, the intensity of the federal raids on his mansions and the government’s interview of a man who said he had seen sex tapes involving minors (such tapes never materialized and the accusation did not lead to charges), the scope of what prosecutors were pursuing seemed broader than the resulting indictment.“I think we were all expecting something very different,” said Mara S. Campo, a journalist who covered the case against Mr. Combs and had worked previously as an anchor at Revolt, his former television network. “I think that he’s been helped tremendously by the expectation that this was going to be very different than what it turned out to be. This didn’t look like what most people think of when they think of sex trafficking.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Faces Not Just a Sentencing, but a Host of Civil Cases

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      The music mogul, convicted on lesser charges at his federal trial, has been accused of sexually assaulting people in dozens of suits. He has denied the allegations.The federal trial of Sean Combs ended on Wednesday with the media mogul acquitted on the most serious charges, but while Mr. Combs remains in jail and awaits sentencing for charges of transporting prostitutes, he also faces ongoing civil lawsuits.There are more than 50 lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse, the majority of which are based in New York. The accusations date as far back as the 1990s and include allegations of druggings and rapes, often at parties. The plaintiffs are a mix of men and women, and at least a dozen say Mr. Combs sexually assaulted them when they were minors. Many of the suits were filed anonymously.In a statement following the verdict, Erica Wolff, a civil lawyer who represents Mr. Combs, said the outcome helped prove “what we have been saying about the civil cases since day one: they are all fabricated attempts to extort windfall payments from an innocent man.”“Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone,” she said. “From the beginning, we have vigorously defended against the civil plaintiffs’ made-up claims with full confidence that Mr. Combs would prevail in the criminal case, and he did.”But now the question becomes whether evidence from the criminal case could find a way into the civil suits in ways that could affect their outcomes. Mr. Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy during the criminal trial, but he was found to have engaged in transportation to move escorts over state lines for the purposes of prostitution.Still, there was a lot of testimony that he was repeatedly violent to a former girlfriend and used drugs in sexual situations.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What’s Next in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial?

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      The music mogul remains in custody after he was convicted on two counts of transporting prostitutes. A judge will determine his prison sentence at an unspecified date.The federal trial of Sean Combs ended on Wednesday with the music mogul acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, the most serious charges he had faced, but convicted on two counts of transporting prostitutes to participate in drug-fueled sex marathons.Though Mr. Combs and his lawyers were jubilant after the acquittals on the more severe charges, he still awaits sentencing at a date that is not yet scheduled.Here is what is next for Mr. Combs:Mr. Combs will remain in a Brooklyn jail.Before 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning, a jubilant Mr. Combs and his family were clapping and cheering his legal team after what they considered a victory in court. But a question remained: Would Judge Arun Subramanian grant him bail to go free as he waited for his sentencing hearing?The defense proposed a $1 million bond, co-signed by Mr. Combs, his mother, his sister and Sarah Chapman, the mother of his oldest daughter, Chance. His passport would be surrendered, and his travel would be restricted to the judicial districts around New York, Los Angeles and Miami. He would also agree to drug testing.“Today, the jury unambiguously rejected the government’s allegations that Mr. Combs ran a yearslong criminal enterprise or engaged in sex trafficking — the core of the government’s case,” the defense wrote.In a letter filed by the government, prosecutors argued that Mr. Combs should remain in detention in part because during the trial “the defendant embraced the fact that he was a habitual drug user who regularly engaged in domestic abuse.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s Nine Lives

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      For decades, he occupied a special stripe of the celebrity stratosphere. Now the man who helped turn rap into a global concern has escaped a sex-trafficking conviction.For the last two months, Sean Combs — once the most powerful executive in hip-hop, and one of the most recognizable global avatars of American cool — had been reframed as a full-time defendant.Facing trial in federal court on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transporting people for prostitution, he seemed diminished — a powerful man brought low by those he had allegedly harmed, an avatar of how even the loftiest realms of celebrity might not offer a buffer against accountability. It appeared as if Combs’s life, his career, his public image would forever be changed. That his career had reached a cul-de-sac of his own making.On Wednesday, though, Combs was found not guilty on all charges apart from transportation to engage in prostitution, the least serious of them.If the time since late 2023 — when Combs’s ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura (the singer Cassie) filed a civil suit against him, which he settled in one day — has prophesied a fall from grace for Combs, Wednesday’s verdict demonstrated the opposite: that even several weeks of grim testimony from his intimates, employees and others about how he flaunted power and resources to bend them to his will was not compelling enough to completely knock him from his perch.Combs largely escaped the fate of some other high-profile entertainment figures who have been held accountable in the #MeToo era. Had he been convicted across the board, he likely would have faced a full reputational shattering like Harvey Weinstein, once the most powerful man in film, who has been imprisoned on federal sex crimes since 2020. Or R. Kelly, once R&B’s most formidable and popular star, who has been in prison since 2022 on sex-trafficking and racketeering charges. Combs would have been a villain who once was famous, not the other way around.Instead, it’s possible that these charges and this trial might end up being viewed as a blemish on his résumé, another tragedy that registered only as a speed bump.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Judge Dismisses Jay-Z’s Suit Against Lawyer He Said Extorted Him

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      Lawyers for the rapper had accused Tony Buzbee of making false assault claims. Another federal suit Jay-Z has filed against Mr. Buzbee and his client continues.A judge in Los Angeles on Monday allowed for the dismissal of a months-old lawsuit filed by Jay-Z, in which the rapper had attempted to sue a lawyer he said had tried to blackmail him with false claims of sexual misconduct.In November, lawyers for Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter), brought a suit that accused the lawyer, Tony Buzbee, of extortion, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He sued after Mr. Buzbee, who has filed a number of lawsuits that accuse Sean Combs of sexual assault, reached out to explore a complaint from an anonymous accuser who said that Mr. Carter and Mr. Combs sexually abused her.Mr. Buzbee subsequently filed suit accusing Mr. Carter of raping the anonymous accuser with Mr. Combs when she was 13.That lawsuit accusing Mr. Carter of sexual misconduct was later withdrawn by the woman. Now Mr. Carter’s suit against Mr. Buzbee in Los Angeles has been dismissed.Still ongoing is a separate lawsuit filed by Mr. Carter against Mr. Buzbee in federal court in Alabama, the home state of the anonymous woman who initially sued Mr. Carter on sexual assault grounds.Mr. Carter’s lawyers have asserted in their filings that the woman and her lawyers knew the allegations they were making were false but proceeded with the claim anyway. In the Los Angeles case, Mr. Carter’s lawyers have said he received a letter from Mr. Buzbee threatening to “immediately file” a “public lawsuit” against him unless he agreed to resolve the matter through mediation for money.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Rust’ Crew Members Settle Civil Suit With Producers, Court Papers Show

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      The lawsuit accused the producers of negligence in the fatal shooting of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie’s set in 2021.Three crew members who worked on the Western movie “Rust” reached a settlement this week in a lawsuit arising from the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the film’s set, according to court documents and lawyers.They were seeking compensation from the producers of the movie, including Alec Baldwin as the lead actor and co-producer. The suit accused the film’s producers of negligence and failing to follow industry safety rules, allegations that the producers denied.The full terms of the settlement were not immediately available. Lawyers for the producers did not comment or were not immediately available on Saturday.The three crew members were independent contractors in New Mexico, where “Rust,” which was released last month, was filmed on a set outside Santa Fe. One was a dolly operator responsible for building and operating the apparatus for camera movement; another was the costumer; the third managed all the nonelectric support gear.All three were on the set when Mr. Baldwin positioned an antique-style revolver for the camera on Oct. 21, 2021. Mr. Baldwin had been told that the gun was “cold,” meaning it had no live ammunition.But as he practiced drawing the gun — in a scene in which his character was cornered by the authorities in a small church when he decides to shoot his way out — the revolver went off, discharging a live bullet, which killed Halyna Hutchins, the movie’s cinematographer, and wounded the director Joel Souza.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Jimmy Buffett’s Widow Sues in Battle Over $275 Million Estate

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      Jane Buffett wants a court to replace her co-trustee, claiming that he mistreated her and neglected to provide key financial information.A vicious legal battle has erupted over Jimmy Buffett’s $275 million estate, with his widow and his accountant filing lawsuits this week seeking to remove each other as co-trustees of a trust containing the “Margaritaville” singer’s sprawling holdings.The widow, Jane Buffett, is angry with the way her husband’s estate has been managed since his death nearly two years ago and has filed a petition seeking to oust her co-trustee, the accountant Richard Mozenter. She complains that the marital trust set up by the singer — who built a musical empire off his laid-back, beach-bum persona and infectious, often self-deprecating country-rock and calypso-inflected songs — is producing far too little income.Mrs. Buffett asked a judge in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday to appoint an independent third party to replace Mr. Mozenter. Her petition accused Mr. Mozenter of failing to provide her with basic information about the trust’s assets and finances, keeping her “in the dark with regard to the state of her own finances.” The complaint also said that Mr. Mozenter had “belittled, disrespected and condescended to Mrs. Buffett.”“As a result, the majority of Mrs. Buffett’s net worth is controlled by someone she does not trust, and to whom the trust for her benefit must pay enormous fees — more than $1.7 million in 2024 to him and his firm — no matter how badly he treats her,” the petition said.Mr. Mozenter filed his own lawsuit in Palm Beach County, Fla., this week, asking the court to remove Ms. Buffett as co-trustee. His suit said that he was a “trusted financial adviser” to Mr. Buffett for more than 30 years and that he was also the singer’s business manager.He claimed that during their partnership, Mr. Buffett expressed concerns about his wife’s ability to manage and control his assets after his death. The singer was careful to set up the trust “in a manner that precluded Jane from having actual control” over it, the lawsuit said. “Other than serving as a noncontrolling trustee, Jane has no ability to manage the trust,” the filing said. “This fact has made Jane very angry.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More