EXCLUSIVE: Diddy Defeats “Odious” Allegations Made By Dawn Richard, Who Takes Massive Loss

June 15, 2026

Diddy won a major legal battle after a federal judge dismissed nearly all of Dawn Richard’s lawsuit and threw out her copyright claims.

Diddy scored a major courtroom victory Friday after a federal judge dismantled nearly all of Dawn Richard’s lawsuit, ruling that most of her allegations arrived years too late and that her copyright claims could not move forward.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismissed 17 of Richard’s 18 claims in a sweeping opinion issued June 12. The only claim left standing was a New York City gender-motivated violence claim, which the judge dismissed without prejudice so Richard can pursue it in state court.

The ruling is the latest development in a case that grew out of Richard’s allegations that she endured years of abuse while working with Diddy in Danity Kane and later in Diddy-Dirty Money.

Richard sued Diddy in September 2024, accusing him of assault, battery, false imprisonment, sex trafficking, forced labor, sexual harassment and copyright infringement tied to the song “Deliver Me.”

While Judge Failla did not hold back when describing the allegations, she ultimately found the law did not support most of Richard’s claims.

A major issue was timing.

Richard argued that Diddy’s alleged threats and intimidation prevented her from coming forward sooner. Her legal team claimed fear kept her silent for years and justified extending the filing deadlines.

The judge rejected that argument.

“Mr. Combs’s conduct for which Plaintiff sues — while indisputably odious — ceased in 2011 or 2012,” Failla wrote. “[Richard] waited more than a decade for most her of claims. While the
serious threats against [Richard] could excuse some delay, under the facts alleged…ten-plus years is too long to constitute reasonable diligence,” Judge Failla ruled.

The court noted that Richard did not claim Diddy committed new wrongful acts against her during the following decade.

The decision also dealt a blow to Richard’s claims involving “Deliver Me,” a song she recorded with Diddy, Kalenna Harper and Busta Rhymes during the Diddy-Dirty Money era.

Richard claimed Diddy and his companies improperly released the track on his 2023 album without her consent and without proper compensation. The judge ruled that Richard could not sue Diddy for copyright infringement because both are listed as co-authors of the song.

“Because [Richard] and Mr. Combs are co-authors of ‘Deliver Me,’ she cannot allege copyright infringement against him,” Failla wrote.

The court then dismissed Richard’s secondary copyright claims because they depended on the failed infringement count.

The lawsuit was one of several civil actions filed against Diddy after Cassie Ventura’s bombshell lawsuit in late 2023 opened the floodgates to additional accusations.

For now, Richard’s federal case is effectively over. Her only remaining path forward is to refile the gender-motivated violence claim in state court.

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