| Sean Combs Moved
to Dismiss Crystal McKinney
Assault Case Now Judge Floats
Stay
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY
COURTHOUSE,
April 8 – In May 2024 Crystal
McKinney sued Sean Combs for
sexual assault under the NYC
Gender Motivated Violence in
the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York.
The suit
recounts Combs inviting
McKinney to Cipriani Downtown
- in 2003 - then to his studio
on West 44th Street where he
drugged and assaulted her,
according to the
complaint.
On
September 20, days after Combs
was indicted and twice denied
bail in the SDNY, as live
tweeted by Inner City Press,
Combs' legal team wrote to
SDNY Judge Naomi Reice
Buchwald asking for a
pre-motion conference in
anticipation of moving to
dismiss Crystal McKinney's
complaint. September 20 letter
on Patreon here.
On
November 8 Combs' lawyers
moved to dismiss McKinney's
complaint, saying state
preempts City law - and
implicitly trashing McKinney,
emphasizing that she went to
Cipriani Downtown after she
"donned jewel encrusted
jeans." Motion on Patreon here
On January 10,
2025, McKinney's lawyer fired
back, calling the motion to
dismiss futile and why, letter
on Patreon here
On April 8, Judge
Buchwald proposed to stay the
case (and another Combs civil
case before her), docketing:
"re: McKinney v. Combs et al.
ENDORSEMENT: As the parties
are aware, there is a fully
briefed motion to dismiss
presently before the Court.
See ECF No. 32. Moreover, as
the parties are aware, the
complaint contains a single
cause of action, which is
rooted in the New York City
Victims of Gender-Motivated
Violence Protection Act
(VGMVPL). See ECF No. 1. The
thrust of defendants motion to
dismiss is that the VGMVPL
claim is time-barred. See ECF
Nos. 26, 33, 38. As the
parties likely know, there are
at least two pending appeals
before the Second Circuit that
raise the same statute of
limitations issues, see Parker
v. Alexander, No. 24 Civ 4813
(LAK), 2025 WL 268436
(S.D.N.Y. Jan. 22, 2025); Doe
v. Black, No. 23 Civ. 6418
(JGLC), 2024 WL 4335453
(S.D.N.Y. Sept. 27, 2024).
Since the Circuits decision on
this dispositive issue of law
will be binding on the Court,
we propose staying the motion
pending the Circuits
resolution of the issue. If
either party has any
reservations about this
proposal, please let us know
promptly. (Signed by Judge
Naomi Reice Buchwald on
4/8/2025)
Inner City
Press is covering the Combs
cases. This one is McKinney v.
Combs, et al., 1:24-cv-3931
(Buchwald)
***
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