Gardner v. Combs et al

In 1990, 16-year-old Liza Gardner, from North Carolina, was invited by Jodeci members Dalvin DeGrate and DeVante Swing to New Jersey/New York City. At an MCA Records event in NYC, hosted by corporate defendants (UMGR/UMGNV predecessors Uptown Records and MCA), Gardner and 15-year-old Monica Case were given excessive alcohol and marijuana despite being minors. After the event, Sean Combs and Aaron Hall, employees of the corporate defendants, transported the intoxicated girls to Hall’s subsidized apartment in Englewood, NJ. There, Combs forcibly raped Gardner, penetrating her vagina despite her resistance, while Swing watched without intervening. Hall then raped her, causing severe pain due to his size, pinning her down. The next day, Combs assaulted Gardner again, choking her unconscious at her residence, fearing exposure. The corporate defendants allegedly facilitated this by providing alcohol, transport, and a permissive environment, part of a pattern of employing predators like Combs and Hall, who have histories of violence and statutory rape (e.g., Hall with 16-year-old Gloria Velez in 1994).

Declaratory judgment that defendants violated New Jersey laws; compensatory damages (monetary/economic, non-monetary including mental anguish, emotional distress); punitive damages; prejudgment interest; costs including expert witness and attorneys’ fees; other relief deemed just.