‘Diddy’ Combs

A man who sued American musician Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs over an alleged sexual assault has been awarded $100 million (£76.6 million) by default after Combs refused to respond.

Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, 51, said Combs drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party in Detroit, Michigan in 1997. Combs’ attorneys disputed the allegations.

According to a local newspaper, Cardello-Smith is a convicted felon currently serving a prison sentence with a long history of pursuing civil cases.

Combs’ lawyers claimed Cardello-Smith was committing “fraud on the court” and told the BBC the rapper would appeal the ruling.

When a person fails to answer a lawsuit, the court imposes a default judgment against them.

Combs and his lawyers told the NEWSSHORTR they were unaware of the move because he had not been given proper notice and would seek to overturn Monday’s decision.

The allegation is one of several recent sexual harassment allegations against Combs, one of the most successful rap music moguls in history.

Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone awarded Cardello-Smith on Monday after Combs failed to appear at a Sept. 9 hearing in the case.

According to local newspaper, Detroit Metro Times, Cardello-Smith met Combs in the 1990s while working in Detroit’s restaurant and hotel industry.

He told the court that Combs recently offered him $2.3 million to drop the charges, which he refused. He also said he knew Combs and presented paperwork containing Combs’ name in the prison visitor log.

In a response to the BBC, Combs’ lawyer, Mark Agnifilo, disputed that the rapper knew Cardello-Smith.

Cardello-Smith is now serving time on unrelated sexual misconduct and kidnapping charges, according to court documents.

According to the Detroit Metro Times, he taught himself criminal and civil law while inside and has since developed a “long history of challenging the justice system” by filing several lawsuits.

Others have sued Combs for sexual and physical abuse, including his long-term partner Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura.

Combs settled the case out of court and paid Ventura an undisclosed sum.

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The rapper previously denied the allegations, but later apologized after CCTV evidence emerged in May of 2016, throwing and kicking Combs in a hotel hallway.