Woman's sex abuse case against Sean 'Diddy' Combs in Orinda could be dismissed: judge

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday warned that she might dismiss a case against rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs because the woman who accused him of horrific sexual crimes when they were in Orinda did not serve him the lawsuit in time, court documents show. 

Timeline:

By law, Ashley Parham had to serve Combs and two other co-defendants within 90 days of her complaint, which she filed on Oct. 15, 2024, U.S. District Court of Northern California Judge Rita Lin wrote. 

But "that deadline has now passed," Lin stated.

Lin then gave Parham until Feb. 14 to file proof of service that Combs and the others have been served. If she doesn't, the case will be dismissed without prejudice, Lin wrote.

What they're saying:

One of Parham's attorneys, Ariel Mitchell, told KTVU in an interview from Miami on Tuesday that she's having a hard time serving Combs the paperwork, despite making several attempts.

"Multiple attorneys have had this problem," Mitchell said. "You can refuse mail in jail." 

She said it's also not that easy to just hire a process server and send them to jail to issue lawsuits.

"That's not how jail works," she said. 

Mitchell formally wrote the judge earlier this week to say she hasn't been able to serve Combs and the others because they have been "conducting further investigation" which will "require" Parham to amend her suit.

In an interview, Mitchell said that she found some additional defendants and facts, which she didn't elaborate on. 

She said she isn't worried the case will be thrown out.

"As long as I show due diligence, I'm pretty confident that the judge will allow us to proceed."  

The other side:

But Henry Bradford, a process server for Help-U-Serve process servers in the Bay Area, told KTVU that isn't true for him.

Serving someone in jail or prison is the "easiest serve," Bradford said. "You just hand it to the sheriff's deputies."

He said he routinely serves people in Santa Rita and Martinez jails in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, respectively.

Mitchell countered that she is having difficulty getting the New York Police Department to serve Combs in a federal detention center.

"New York is not California," Mitchell said. 

Where is Combs? :

Combs is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, on criminal sex trafficking charges, which include allegations that he coerced and abused victims, silencing them through blackmail and violence.

He has pleaded not guilty. 

In addition, Combs is facing at least 20 sexual abuse lawsuits all over the country, including from Parham, who alleged that Combs and his entourage raped her in Orinda, including inserting a TV remote inside her vagina, as payback for her mentioning that he might have been involved in Tupac's murder years ago.

Mitchell and her colleague, Shawn Perez, were supposed to have a case management conference on Wednesday morning about the case before the judge. 

But that hearing is now canceled, Lin said, and will only be reset if there is proof that Combs was served.

Combs does not have any attorney on record in this case. 

By the numbers:

Parham's suit is asking for $50 million. 

"I'm considering the violent gang rape that my client experienced," Mitchell said. "I think that's very fair."