A federal judge has granted Cassie’s request to be dropped from a lawsuit against Diddy, filed by a former escort who claimed that they were involved in “freak-off” sessions with her and Diddy.
At a hearing in Los Angeles, California, last Wednesday (October 21), U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted Cassie’s motion to be removed from the lawsuit with prejudice. That distinction means Cassie cannot be sued on the same grounds in another lawsuit.
“Defendant Ventura’s motion to dismiss is hereby granted; this will be the order as stated on the record,” the filing read. Clayton Howard’s lawsuit will proceed, with Diddy, aka Sean Combs, as the sole defendant.
Howard, who had previously worked as a male escort using the name “Dave”, first filed the lawsuit seeking $35 million in damages against Cassie, aka Cassandra Ventura, Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment LLC, and CeOpco LLC last year.
He alleged that Cassie arranged the sex sessions under Diddy’s direction, and that he was abused through coercion and the use of drugs in those paid encounters which took place in New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles.
Cassie’s lawyers argued that Howard being paid and agreeing to return visits proved his allegations in the lawsuit weren’t valid. “These defects are not curable by better drafting or any reframing of the facts,” they wrote.
Howard later had to amend his lawsuit after that motion, even trying to submit a rewritten account of his earlier claim that Diddy detained him for 12 hours during one session in Miami in December 2016. That was
denied before the October 21 hearing.
Further filings from Cassie’s lawyers also say she is now an American citizen living abroad, with no intention of returning. Cassie and her husband, Alex Fine, quietly relocated ahead of Diddy’s racketeering and sex trafficking trial, which resulted in him receiving a 50-month prison sentence last October.