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Judge rules that the civil lawsuit against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs cannot proceed under a pseudonym

Judge rules that the civil lawsuit against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs cannot proceed under a pseudonym

A federal judge said a woman who accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her cannot continue her lawsuit under a pseudonym after ruling that the rapper has the right to defend himself.

“The fundamental question is whether the plaintiff has a ‘substantial privacy interest’ that ‘outweighs the customary and constitutionally enshrined presumption of openness in judicial proceedings,’ Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wrote in an opinion on Wednesday, adding: ‘Defendants have the right to defend themselves, including by investigating the claimant, and the people have the right to know who is using their courts.”

The Tennessee woman filed a lawsuit earlier this month as Jane Doe against Combs and others, alleging he raped her in 2004 when she was 19 years old.

The Doe lawsuit is one of more than a dozen filed since Combs’ arrest on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in September by John and Jane Does, who are represented by the same attorneys. The cases are filed individually and before different judges, but the ruling could have consequences for some of these cases.

Judge Vyskocil ruled that the woman must file the lawsuit under her name before November 13 or the lawsuit will be dismissed.

Representatives for Combs said: “We have no formal statement as the statement speaks for itself.”

Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied any wrongdoing.

CNN has contacted representatives of the plaintiff for comment.

Attorneys for the woman argued in court filings that the case was allowed to proceed because of the woman’s fear that Combs would cause her bodily harm.

The judge disagreed.

“However, as the accuser’s own statements make clear, Combs has not had contact with the accuser in 20 years since the alleged rape, and Combs is currently being held pending trial,” the judge wrote. “As such, counsel has not identified any current threat of bodily harm to plaintiff,” she said. In the lawsuit, the judge notes that there is no allegation that Combs threatened this woman by making her allegations public.

The judge ruled that “public humiliation” is not enough to justify keeping the identity secret and pointed to the many lawsuits filed against Combs by people under their real names.

“The court appreciates that Combs is a public figure and therefore plaintiff is likely to face public criticism if she acts on her own behalf. The Court is unaware of the potential toll of such an investigation on any litigant. However, the plaintiff’s interest in avoiding public scrutiny, or even embarrassment, does not outweigh the interests of both Combs and the public in “the customary and constitutionally embedded presumption of candor in judicial proceedings,” the judge wrote.

The judge said Combs has the right to know her identity to investigate her claims.

“Counsel’s assertions that defendants do not need to know plaintiff’s identity to file an answer and conduct an investigation strain credulity,” she wrote.

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