Lawyer Reacts To Diddy & Cassie Settlement & Explains What It Could Mean
Lawyer Reacts To Diddy & Cassie Settlement & Explains What It Could Mean
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 Today on Legally Yes, we break down everything you need to know in Diddy's shocking rape
00:04 lawsuit and why it was resolved so quickly.
00:07 Plus, Arnold Schwarzenegger is sued after a woman claimed she was left permanently disabled
00:11 following a car crash and Nicolas Cage's family fights to see their grandchildren.
00:15 We got that plus so much more in today's Legally Yes.
00:19 (upbeat music)
00:21 Hey everyone, Christina Yarbaldi here with Nima Rahmani, President and CEO of West Coast
00:26 Trial Lawyers.
00:27 Hi Nima, how are you?
00:28 Doing great, Christina.
00:29 How are you?
00:30 Doing good.
00:31 We have a big, big lawsuit to talk about this week and this is what everybody's been talking
00:36 about for the past few days.
00:38 So Cassie has settled her lawsuit that accused ex-boyfriend Sean Diddy Combs of sexual assault
00:44 and abuse.
00:45 And so she said, "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have
00:50 some level of control."
00:51 So news of the settlement came one day after the singer, whose real name is Cassandra Ventura,
00:57 filed a lawsuit that claimed Diddy often tried to control her when they were dating by taking
01:01 drugs, physically hurting her and forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes on camera.
01:06 She also claimed that Diddy forced his way into her home in 2018 and sexually assaulted
01:11 her.
01:12 Diddy meanwhile issued a statement of denial via his legal team that same day saying that
01:17 for the past six months, he has been subject to her persistent demand of $30 million under
01:22 the threat of writing a damaging book about her relationship, which was unequivocally
01:26 rejected as blatant blackmail.
01:29 Her team claimed that she rejected an eight-figure offer from Diddy and that that was made as
01:34 an attempt to silence her.
01:36 So this lawsuit comes out absolutely shocking.
01:39 And then less than a day later, this was resolved.
01:42 Why was this resolved so quickly?
01:44 Christina, this has to be one of the fastest settlements in American history.
01:50 We're talking about one day.
01:52 And the reason that this lawsuit was settled was probably the reason that it was filed
01:57 in the first place.
01:59 Cassie ran out of time.
02:00 So some of these allegations are a little bit older than the statute of limitations
02:04 that run.
02:05 However, in New York, there was a law that opened the statute of limitations to file
02:10 civil lawsuits and sexual assault cases.
02:13 And that window closed this week on November 24th.
02:17 So Cassie was up against the clock and the parties really were unable to finalize their
02:23 negotiations before that window was going to close.
02:27 So she was forced to file a lawsuit.
02:29 And when she did, I think Diddy saw the writing on the wall, realized that this is going to
02:34 cost him a lot, not just in terms of legal fees, but his reputation as well.
02:39 So he quickly settled it.
02:41 Interesting.
02:42 So you probably think that this was going on behind the scenes for quite some time.
02:45 I mean, he basically said that she was wanting money for a while.
02:48 And so this was probably being worked out for quite some time.
02:52 And like you said, she kind of just ran out of time.
02:55 I think that's it.
02:56 And again, obviously, these types of settlement negotiations, they happen behind closed doors.
03:01 They're confidential.
03:02 They're not public.
03:03 But if you believe both sides, Diddy said Cassie was asking for 30 million.
03:09 Cassie said that Diddy's lawyers made an eight figure offer.
03:13 Well, that's at least 10 million.
03:14 So obviously, that's a pretty big range.
03:16 But if that's true, you're talking about the 10 to 30 million dollar range.
03:20 And for someone like Diddy, who's reportedly worth almost $1 billion, you know, writing
03:27 a check for 10 or even 20 million dollars to save his reputation and avoid litigation
03:32 with someone that he was in a relationship with for so long was probably the right move.
03:38 Right.
03:39 I mean, does settling this so quickly, you know, you see a lot of comments like settling
03:43 this so quickly.
03:44 Is this an admission of guilt on Diddy's part?
03:47 Potentially, yes.
03:49 But ultimately, there's going to be confidentiality.
03:53 There's going to be non disparagement provisions.
03:56 No one's going to say anything.
03:58 And as embarrassing as a settlement like this is, a public trial and having this drag on
04:04 for months or years would have done far more harm to Diddy's reputation.
04:09 I think, you know, a year or two from now, people aren't even going to remember this
04:13 settlement.
04:14 But if we were going to trial in New York on this, everyone would be talking about Diddy.
04:18 Right.
04:19 You know, and obviously, people are going to argue on the flip side because that's what
04:22 people do.
04:23 But I mean, reading this lawsuit, it's pretty horrific, like we said before.
04:27 But some will argue that maybe she was just looking for money.
04:31 And you know, got to argue both sides, I guess.
04:34 Well, definitely.
04:35 And obviously, you know, Christina, we represent a lot of victims of sexual abuse, sexual violence.
04:40 And you know, we hear the same thing.
04:43 This is all about money.
04:44 And oftentimes, that's the only justice you can get as a civil plaintiff.
04:48 Now, reportedly, if you believe some of the media reports, NYPD is looking into Diddy,
04:53 that would be a criminal case, obviously something separate.
04:56 But that's really up to law enforcement and prosecutors that they want to file criminal
04:59 charges.
05:00 But if you're the victim of sexual assault, you know, really the only remedy you have
05:04 if there are no criminal charges is to file that civil lawsuit and to get civil damages.
05:09 That's our system of justice.
05:10 Right.
05:11 And like you said, this was kind of like running out of time.
05:13 This was probably going on behind the scenes for a while.
05:15 So was were they probably almost at that final set step of a settlement?
05:20 And like, do you think that obviously, she must have gotten that eight figure payout?
05:24 Do you think that she also had to sign an NDA not to write a book in the future?
05:28 Maybe something like that as well?
05:30 I think so.
05:31 Obviously, you know, someone like Diddy isn't going to settle a case like this and have
05:34 it be litigated, not in the courtroom, but the court of public opinion.
05:39 Right.
05:40 You certainly wouldn't want to pay a victim and have her go on a book tour or on the talk
05:46 show circuit.
05:47 But like you said, it really is just the unique nature of the law.
05:50 Let's not forget that Cassie and Diddy, they live in California.
05:54 I mean, Cassie does split her time with the East Coast, apparently.
05:57 But this is a case because of the way the laws work may not have been able to be filed
06:03 in California.
06:04 New York might have been the only venue where Cassie could have filed.
06:08 So they were really up against it.
06:10 And, you know, I'm sure the negotiations were going back and forth for quite some time.
06:15 And then maybe Cassie decided to walk away, file a lawsuit to show Diddy that she was
06:19 serious and she meant business.
06:20 Right.
06:21 I mean, obviously, this is just speculation.
06:23 These are all allegations.
06:24 We don't know if it actually happened.
06:25 But if you were Diddy, would you ever be nervous if some of this were true, that other women
06:30 may come forward now that Cassie kind of opened up the door?
06:33 Absolutely.
06:34 I mean, that's what Me Too is all about.
06:36 Right.
06:37 I mean, oftentimes when there is an abuser, I'm not saying Diddy is one, but rich and
06:41 powerful men, they can be abusers.
06:44 Oftentimes it's not just one victim that they abuse.
06:47 There are others.
06:48 Now, also, we know that sexual assault tends to be an underreported crime.
06:53 There's many victims in this country that don't come forward because they don't want
06:57 to be re-victimized in a public way.
06:59 And just like there's a lot of things that have been said about Diddy, there's a lot
07:03 of bad things that were said about Cassie on social media saying that this is just all
07:07 about money and this is all fake and people love celebrities.
07:10 So it's not easy to come forward.
07:12 But I really commend the women who are true victims that do because it does empower others
07:17 to do the same.
07:18 Definitely.
07:19 Like you said, fastest settlement, probably history, but it really was.
07:22 All right.
07:23 Some other news.
07:24 A woman filed a lawsuit against Arnold Schwarzenegger after she was left permanently disabled from
07:28 a January 2022 car crash she claims he caused.
07:32 So according to the court documents obtained by The Blast, the plaintiff claims that she
07:36 was left, like I said, permanently disabled after the multi-car accident.
07:39 She alleges in the suit that she was required to and did employ physicians and surgeons
07:44 to examine, treat and care for her.
07:45 She is looking for the actor to cover the general damages, all medical and incidental
07:50 expenses, all loss of earnings and all damages to her car.
07:54 So in this case, do we think Arnold will have to pay up?
07:58 I don't think so.
07:59 This is just an insurance case.
08:01 So we talked about why lawsuits are filed.
08:05 And in this particular case, whenever there's a car accident, I'm sure Arnold Schwarzenegger
08:09 has insurance.
08:10 There's a whole process where whoever's injured, they have to deal with the insurance
08:15 adjuster and if the insurance adjuster makes a lowball offer, doesn't pay what the injured
08:21 victim believes that he or she is owed, that's when a lawsuit is filed.
08:25 But lawsuits in car accident cases aren't too common.
08:28 Usually about 80 to 90% of the time, the cases do resolve.
08:32 There's a whole system of insurance and adjusters and claims that handle these types of claims.
08:36 But they make lowball offers, lawsuits are filed.
08:39 But I don't expect a case like this to go all the way to trial.
08:43 Because when a lawsuit is filed, you might get the adjuster on the case or you might
08:46 get a more senior adjuster or a lawyer that's going to step in, going to pay the money and
08:50 settle the claim.
08:51 And that's what I fully expect to happen.
08:53 All right.
08:54 All right.
08:55 Well, moving on.
08:56 This is an interesting story.
08:57 So Nicholas Cage and his ex, Christina Fulton, haven't met their three-year-old twin granddaughters
09:00 because of a nightmare feud with their former daughter-in-law.
09:04 So their former daughter-in-law, who is married to the former couple's son, Weston, is being
09:09 sued by both Weston and Nicholas Cage's ex, Christina, for defamation.
09:14 So in a separate lawsuit, sustained by Page Six, both the mother and son duo accused the
09:19 ex-wife of embezzling $100,000 and requesting a fraudulent restraining order that prevented
09:24 Christina and her family from seeing Weston's daughters.
09:27 In his own lawsuit, Weston alleges his estranged wife took advantage of him while he was recovering
09:33 from mental health issues and accused her of spreading malicious lies in retaliation
09:37 for his divorce filing.
09:39 So do you think that a judge will allow visitation rights to the family?
09:44 You know, it seems like this is getting very messy.
09:46 It is getting messy.
09:48 And in most states, including California, it's hard for grandparents to get visitation
09:53 rights over the parents' objections.
09:55 So we've got to kind of analyze this.
09:57 If Weston does have, you know, physical custody of the children, of course he can invite his
10:03 parents over.
10:04 You know, Nicholas and Christina, right?
10:06 Their grandparents.
10:07 But if he does not, and if his ex has sole physical custody, it's going to be hard for
10:13 Nicholas and Christina to get visitation rights over their former daughter-in-law's objection.
10:19 You know, usually parents have the right to control who sees the child.
10:23 Of course, the standard is always best interest of the child.
10:26 If it is the best interest of the child to see the grandparents, judges may order some
10:30 grandparent visitation.
10:31 But usually parents, whether they're married or not, whoever has custody, has the right
10:37 to control who their children see.
10:39 They can even exclude family members or grandparents if necessary.
10:42 Interesting.
10:43 So will the mother of the children have to prove why the father and the grandmother cannot
10:50 be involved in their lives?
10:51 Or does she even have to go that far?
10:54 It's actually the opposite.
10:55 You know, the grandparents.
10:56 So in this case, Nicholas and Christina will have to prove to the court why it's in the
11:01 best interest of the child for them to have visitation rights.
11:04 The burden is on them because they're the ones that are trying to do something that
11:09 typically is not ordered.
11:12 So mom doesn't have to do anything.
11:14 It's up to Nicholas and Christina to go to court and get a court to order visitation.
11:20 Otherwise, they have no rights.
11:22 Interesting.
11:23 All right.
11:24 Lots of interesting stories this week.
11:25 Neema, thank you so much as always.
11:26 Thanks, Christina.
11:28 Have a great Thanksgiving and I'll see you next week.
11:30 Thank you too.
11:31 See you next week.
11:32 For more news, content and exclusive interviews, make sure to hit the sub, like and bell button
11:35 down below and visit usmagazine.com.