10 May 30 - June 5, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | SAVING FACE Music label boss demands attorney sanctions in Diddy lawsuit. BY IZZY KAPNICK U niversal Music Group chief executive Lucian Grainge is seeking sanc- tions against a New York City attorney who he claims subjected him to global scorn by unfairly fingering him as a defen- dant in a sex-trafficking lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs. Grainge, one of the most prominent exec- utives in the music industry, says he was dragged into producer Rodney Jones’ sprawl- ing lawsuit on the basis of fabricated allega- tions that he and Universal Music Group funded criminal activity at Combs’ Miami Beach mansion and beyond. Grainge and Universal were dropped from the case on March 14, with the plaintiff’s attorney, Ty- rone Blackburn, conceding that there was “no legal basis” to include them in the lawsuit. Jones’ case, which is still pending against Combs and other defendants, contains claims that seem jarring even in the context of the av- alanche of sexual assault and abuse allegations levied against Combs over the past six months. The lawsuit alleges that while Jones was working on Diddy’s Love Album: Off the Grid, the rapper tried to turn him into a pimp for a stable of Miami sex workers and “threatened to eat Mr. Jones’ face” if he abandoned the entourage. Jones, AKA Lil Rod, claims Combs hosted sex parties where liquor was spiked with drugs — and that Combs participated in a shooting coverup at a Los Angeles music studio. (Photos depicting an apparently bloody toilet were included in the complaint.) In the motion for sanctions, Grainge says Jones and his attorney roped Grainge into what has become one of the most disturbing music industry scandals in recent history. Record labels, industry executives, and fel- low rappers have been distancing themselves from Combs as the lawsuits roll in — and to be associated with Diddy’s inner circle of al- leged depravity immeasurably sullied Grainge’s reputation, the veteran music-label executive says. Blackburn tells New Times he plans to fight the motion. “The sanctions motion is baseless and was filed in bad faith. This will be abundantly clear when we file our opposition,” the attor- ney says in a statement. In March, three weeks after Jones filed the lawsuit, Diddy’s mansions in Los Angeles and Miami Beach were raided as part of a fed- eral sex-trafficking investigation. Investiga- tors released scant details about the raids, leaving it uncertain whether they were re- lated to Jones’ case. Combs has not been charged with a crime in the feds’ probe. This past weekend, a video surfaced show- ing Combs in 2016 repeatedly punching Cassie Ventura, his then-girlfriend, and kick- ing her as she was lying motionless on the floor of a California hotel — footage that con- firmed Ventura’s stories of violent abuse at the hands of the hip-hop mogul. Meanwhile, Jones’ case against Diddy is playing out in New York federal court. In the initial version of Jones’ lawsuit, Blackburn wrote that Grainge “sponsored and attended” Diddy’s raucous album-listen- ing parties where “sex workers and underage girls” were present. But Grainge’s name was removed from that narrative when Blackburn filed a new version of the pleading in April. In the motion for sanctions, Grainge and Universal say the stories amounted to “pa- tently fabricated and highly incendiary al- legations” that the attorney included in an attempt to feature Grainge and Univer- sal Music Group in the lawsuit. The mo- tion argues that Blackburn kept Grainge listed as a defendant in the April filing even after he backed away from claims that Grainge attended the alleged sex-trafficking parties. “Blackburn knew or, as an attorney prac- ticing before this court, should have known, how to investigate plaintiff’s allegations. It is clear that any investigation would have pro- vided no corroboration with respect to [Uni- versal] because they had nothing to do with any of the alleged actions of Combs and his associates,” the motion states. Grainge claims that as a result of being named as a defendant, he’s been subjected to anti-Semitic attacks on social media, had his home address publicized, and was forced to obtain enhanced security for his family. The motion, which seeks sanctions against Jones as well, could lead to fines in favor of Grainge or non-monetary penalties. In an April letter to the judge (sent several weeks before dropping the claims against Grainge), Blackburn defended the revisions to the lawsuit. He said the changes made in the new pleading were part of the process of ironing out the details of a complicated case, and that “corrective amended pleadings may naturally be at odds with original pleadings.” “The Plaintiff stands by the facts as writ- ten in his First Amended Complaint as it was written with the knowledge, documents, vid- eos, and audio recordings he possessed when the pleading was written and filed,” Black- burn wrote. The initial filing by Jones also put forth now-abandoned allegations that Grainge and Universal were liable for Diddy’s conduct be- cause they bankrolled the establishment of Diddy’s label, Love Records (for which Jones worked as a producer), giving Combs the fi- nancial resources to carry out the alleged criminal escapades. Blackburn initially framed Universal-owned label Motown Re- cords as a “parent” company of Love Records. He later amended the case to say there was a “general partnership” between Combs and Universal Music Group. Grainge says, however, that the business re- lationship was nothing more than a licensing agreement with Love Records. He and Univer- sal have argued in court that the notion that they should be held responsible for Combs’ conduct simply because they licensed Combs’ songs has no legal merit. They argued that given Diddy’s estimated net worth of more than a billion dollars, it would be far-fetched to attribute the money that funded the alleged criminal activity to Grainge or Universal. “Under Blackburn’s theory, any payor of monies to Combs for any reason (e.g., Diageo, which distributes his liquor brands, or a bank paying interest on an account) is liable for Combs’ actions,” Grainge and Universal ar- gued in an April motion to dismiss. Weeks before dropping the claims against Grainge and Univeral, Blackburn had as- serted the license agreement was a “toothless sham” to obscure the parties’ business rela- tionship. He wrote to the presiding judge in the Southern District of New York that Uni- versal provided Combs with $1.3 million in “unchecked dollars” under their deal. With reported annual revenue of more than $11 billion, Universal Music Group bills itself as “the largest music company in the world.” Grainge has served as its CEO since 2011. Grainge says he incurred nearly a half-mil- lion dollars in legal fees in the Jones case be- fore the counts against him were dropped. [email protected] Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group chief executive officer, mixes it up with Taylor Swift at a 2014 Grammy Awards gala. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images | METRO | GRAINGE SAYS THAT THE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH LOVE RECORDS. Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | SAVING FACE Music label boss demands attorney sanctions in Diddy lawsuit. BY IZZY KAPNICK U niversal Music Group chief executive Lucian Grainge is seeking sanc- tions against a New York City attorney who he claims subjected him to global scorn by unfairly fingering him as a defen- dant in a sex-trafficking lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs. Grainge, one of the most prominent exec- utives in the music industry, says he was dragged into producer Rodney Jones’ sprawl- ing lawsuit on the basis of fabricated allega- tions that he and Universal Music Group funded criminal activity at Combs’ Miami Beach mansion and beyond. Grainge and Universal were dropped from the case on March 14, with the plaintiff’s attorney, Ty- rone Blackburn, conceding that there was “no legal basis” to include them in the lawsuit. Jones’ case, which is still pending against Combs and other defendants, contains claims that seem jarring even in the context of the av- alanche of sexual assault and abuse allegations levied against Combs over the past six months. The lawsuit alleges that while Jones was working on Diddy’s Love Album: Off the Grid, the rapper tried to turn him into a pimp for a stable of Miami sex workers and “threatened to eat Mr. Jones’ face” if he abandoned the entourage. Jones, AKA Lil Rod, claims Combs hosted sex parties where liquor was spiked with drugs — and that Combs participated in a shooting coverup at a Los Angeles music studio. (Photos depicting an apparently bloody toilet were included in the complaint.) In the motion for sanctions, Grainge says Jones and his attorney roped Grainge into what has become one of the most disturbing music industry scandals in recent history. Record labels, industry executives, and fel- low rappers have been distancing themselves from Combs as the lawsuits roll in — and to be associated with Diddy’s inner circle of al- leged depravity immeasurably sullied Grainge’s reputation, the veteran music-label executive says. Blackburn tells New Times he plans to fight the motion. “The sanctions motion is baseless and was filed in bad faith. This will be abundantly clear when we file our opposition,” the attor- ney says in a statement. In March, three weeks after Jones filed the lawsuit, Diddy’s mansions in Los Angeles and Miami Beach were raided as part of a fed- eral sex-trafficking investigation. Investiga- tors released scant details about the raids, leaving it uncertain whether they were re- lated to Jones’ case. Combs has not been charged with a crime in the feds’ probe. This past weekend, a video surfaced show- ing Combs in 2016 repeatedly punching Cassie Ventura, his then-girlfriend, and kick- ing her as she was lying motionless on the floor of a California hotel — footage that con- firmed Ventura’s stories of violent abuse at the hands of the hip-hop mogul. Meanwhile, Jones’ case against Diddy is playing out in New York federal court. In the initial version of Jones’ lawsuit, Blackburn wrote that Grainge “sponsored and attended” Diddy’s raucous album-listen- ing parties where “sex workers and underage girls” were present. But Grainge’s name was removed from that narrative when Blackburn filed a new version of the pleading in April. In the motion for sanctions, Grainge and Universal say the stories amounted to “pa- tently fabricated and highly incendiary al- legations” that the attorney included in an attempt to feature Grainge and Univer- sal Music Group in the lawsuit. The mo- tion argues that Blackburn kept Grainge listed as a defendant in the April filing even after he backed away from claims that Grainge attended the alleged sex-trafficking parties. “Blackburn knew or, as an attorney prac- ticing before this court, should have known, how to investigate plaintiff’s allegations. It is clear that any investigation would have pro- vided no corroboration with respect to [Uni- versal] because they had nothing to do with any of the alleged actions of Combs and his associates,” the motion states. Grainge claims that as a result of being named as a defendant, he’s been subjected to anti-Semitic attacks on social media, had his home address publicized, and was forced to obtain enhanced security for his family. The motion, which seeks sanctions against Jones as well, could lead to fines in favor of Grainge or non-monetary penalties. In an April letter to the judge (sent several weeks before dropping the claims against Grainge), Blackburn defended the revisions to the lawsuit. He said the changes made in the new pleading were part of the process of ironing out the details of a complicated case, and that “corrective amended pleadings may naturally be at odds with original pleadings.” “The Plaintiff stands by the facts as writ- ten in his First Amended Complaint as it was written with the knowledge, documents, vid- eos, and audio recordings he possessed when the pleading was written and filed,” Black- burn wrote. The initial filing by Jones also put forth now-abandoned allegations that Grainge and Universal were liable for Diddy’s conduct be- cause they bankrolled the establishment of Diddy’s label, Love Records (for which Jones worked as a producer), giving Combs the fi- nancial resources to carry out the alleged criminal escapades. Blackburn initially framed Universal-owned label Motown Re- cords as a “parent” company of Love Records. He later amended the case to say there was a “general partnership” between Combs and Universal Music Group. Grainge says, however, that the business re- lationship was nothing more than a licensing agreement with Love Records. He and Univer- sal have argued in court that the notion that they should be held responsible for Combs’ conduct simply because they licensed Combs’ songs has no legal merit. They argued that given Diddy’s estimated net worth of more than a billion dollars, it would be far-fetched to attribute the money that funded the alleged criminal activity to Grainge or Universal. “Under Blackburn’s theory, any payor of monies to Combs for any reason (e.g., Diageo, which distributes his liquor brands, or a bank paying interest on an account) is liable for Combs’ actions,” Grainge and Universal ar- gued in an April motion to dismiss. Weeks before dropping the claims against Grainge and Univeral, Blackburn had as- serted the license agreement was a “toothless sham” to obscure the parties’ business rela- tionship. He wrote to the presiding judge in the Southern District of New York that Uni- versal provided Combs with $1.3 million in “unchecked dollars” under their deal. With reported annual revenue of more than $11 billion, Universal Music Group bills itself as “the largest music company in the world.” Grainge has served as its CEO since 2011. Grainge says he incurred nearly a half-mil- lion dollars in legal fees in the Jones case be- fore the counts against him were dropped. [email protected] Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group chief executive officer, mixes it up with Taylor Swift at a 2014 Grammy Awards gala. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images | METRO | GRAINGE SAYS THAT THE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH LOVE RECORDS.
