Justin Gooch v. Combs et al

Filed February 27, 2025 Judge Judge Leslie A. Stroth

Closed Sean Combs, a/k/a 'P. Diddy' Bad Boy Entertainment Holdings, Inc. Bad Boy Entertainment LLC Bad Boy Productions Holdings, Inc. Daddy's House Recordings, Inc. CE OPCO, LLC d/b/a Combs Global f/k/a Combs Enterprises LLC

Parties

Justin Gooch Plaintiff

Sean Combs, a/k/a 'P. Diddy' A U.S. citizen, resident of New York, currently incarcerated at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, who owned/controlled the Corporate Defendants.

Bad Boy Entertainment Holdings, Inc. A New York corporation with its principal place of business at 9255 Sunset Blvd., 2nd Fl., West Hollywood, California.

Bad Boy Entertainment LLC A New York LLC headquartered in New York or California.

Bad Boy Productions Holdings, Inc. A New York corporation with its principal place of business at 9255 Sunset Blvd., 2nd Fl., West Hollywood, California.

Daddy's House Recordings, Inc. A New York corporation with its principal place of business in New York or California.

CE OPCO, LLC d/b/a Combs Global f/k/a Combs Enterprises LLC A Delaware LLC with its principal place of business at 9255 Sunset Blvd., 2nd Fl., West Hollywood, California, overseeing other Bad Boy entities.

Factual Allegations

Disclaimer: allegations as pled by the plaintiff, summarized by Grok.

In January 1999, Justin Gooch, a 16-year-old from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, traveled to Manhattan with friends to visit nightclubs. At 'The Tunnel' in Chelsea, he recognized Sean Combs from a magazine and introduced himself. Combs gave him ecstasy and alcohol, then invited him to a bathroom stall, followed by security guards linked to the Corporate Defendants. Inside, Combs supplied ketamine, violently pushed Gooch down, pulled his hair, removed his pants, and anally raped him without consent. Combs then casually remarked, 'That wasn’t so bad, was it?' Traumatized, Gooch left, later confiding in friends but not his grandparents, suffering lasting emotional and physical harm.

Prayer for Relief

Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages exceeding lower court jurisdictional limits, punitive damages, costs and attorneys’ fees, prejudgment interest, and any other relief deemed just and proper.

Causes of Action

FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION Violation of NYC Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act New York City Administrative Code § 10-1103 (All Defendants)

SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION Negligence Common Law (All Defendants)

THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Common Law (All Defendants)

FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION Battery Common Law (All Defendants)

FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION Assault Common Law (All Defendants)

Disposition

Voluntary discontinuance — July 16, 2026

This case is voluntarily dismissed without prejudice.

Docket

Date	No.	Description
Feb 27, 2025	1	SUMMONS + COMPLAINT — Gooch Summons and Complaint. Hart, S.	View PDF
Feb 28, 2025	2	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE (PRE RJI) — Justin Gooch Notice of Appearance. Hart, S.	No document
Mar 10, 2025	3	STIPULATION - SERVICE — Justin Gooch STIPULATION REGARDING SERVICE AND TIME TO RESPOND TO COMPLAINT. Hart, S.	No document
Mar 20, 2025	4	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE (PRE RJI). Cuccaro, M.	No document
Mar 20, 2025	5	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE (PRE RJI). Wolff, E.	No document
Mar 20, 2025	6	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE (PRE RJI). Tremonte, M.	No document
Mar 20, 2025	7	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE (PRE RJI). Friedman, R.	No document
May 29, 2025	8	STIPULATION - TIME TO ANSWER. Cuccaro, M.	No document
Jun 2, 2025	9	STIPULATION - SO ORDERED. Court User	No document
Sep 19, 2025	10	STIPULATION - TIME TO ANSWER. Cuccaro, M.	No document
Jul 16, 2026	11	STIPULATION - OTHER — Stipulation of voluntary dismissal without prejudice (GMVL claim extinguished per S.S. v. Rockefeller Univ. Hosp., 2025-501). Cuccaro, M. / Hart, S.	View PDF

Attorneys

Steven A. Hart

Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, LLC

Plaintiff

Erica A. Wolff

Sher Tremonte

Civil Defense