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| Singer Cassie Ventura is shown in a May 27, 2021, photograph shared on her Instagram account. A federal judge granted her motion to dismiss claims in a civil lawsuit involving Sean "Diddy" Combs on Oct. 21, 2026. (Photo via Cassie Ventura's Instagram) |
A federal judge has granted singer Cassie Ventura's request to dismiss claims against her in a $35 million civil lawsuit involving Sean "Diddy" Combs, while allowing the broader case to continue.
U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted Ventura's motion Wednesday during a hearing in Los Angeles, according to court minutes reviewed by SuperThrowbackParty.net.
The Oct. 21 ruling was recorded in a one-page document filed in the Central District of California in the case brought by Clayton Howard, a man who says he was hired to participate in sexual encounters involving Combs and Ventura.
Howard filed the lawsuit in June 2025, alleging that he was subjected to sexual exploitation, coercion and abuse during encounters he says took place over several years.
The allegations have not been established as fact by the court.
Ventura's attorneys challenged Howard's claims, arguing that his allegations did not establish the necessary legal basis to hold her liable for sex trafficking or related misconduct.
The defense also pointed to Howard's own descriptions of Combs exercising control over the encounters, arguing that those accounts did not establish that Ventura had coerced him.
The court granted Ventura's dismissal motion, identified as document 163 in the record.
But the ruling was not a dismissal of the entire lawsuit.
The judge granted part of a separate dismissal motion filed by Combs and corporate defendants and denied other portions. The court allowed an amendment within 14 days and directed Combs to file an answer within the same period.
The written minutes refer to an oral ruling delivered during the hearing and do not specify whether Ventura's dismissal was with prejudice, which would generally prevent the same claims from being brought against her again.
That distinction could matter if Howard seeks to pursue additional claims.
The judge also denied Howard's request to substitute another proposed amended complaint and said the court would consider a separate request involving an additional response to defense arguments.
Howard has repeatedly revised his lawsuit as the court has considered challenges to its allegations.
The $35 million figure represents damages sought in the litigation, according to AllHipHop's reporting. It is not a court award, settlement or finding that any defendant owes Howard money.
The ruling comes amid continuing civil litigation stemming from allegations involving Combs, whose legal troubles have generated a series of overlapping but separate cases.
Ventura previously testified in Combs' federal criminal trial. The allegations and procedural outcome in Howard's civil lawsuit must be evaluated independently of that prosecution.
The latest court action establishes one immediate result: Ventura's dismissal motion was granted, but the broader litigation has not concluded.
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