Universal Music Group Seeks Dismissal from Sara Rivers’ Diddy Lawsuit
Brace yourselves: Universal Music Group just declared “not our circus, not our monkeys” in Sara Rivers’ explosive lawsuit against Diddy. In a motion filed earlier this month and obtained by TMZ, UMG insists it has zero business being dragged into a case that primarily hinges on the alleged “hostile and inhumane treatment” of the former Making The Band vocalist. According to court documents (via TMZ) and a follow-up briefing in Billboard, the label’s legal team argues that Sara’s federal claims are laughably time-barred and outright preempted by New York state law.
UMG doesn’t mince words. They point out that of the sprawling 1,003-paragraph complaint, a grand total of ten paragraphs even name-drop the company. That’s less presence than your average cameo in a superhero sequel. The suit lumps together dozens of defendants — promoters, producers, managers, you name it — in what UMG calls an “improper group pleading” that fails to link the label to any tangible wrongdoing. If that bath-water-throwing tactic sounds messy, it’s because, well, it is.
Digging deeper into the filings, UMG asserts that any remote thread tying them to Rivers’ claims is irrelevant to her beef with Diddy. They’re chalking it up to legal overreach, arguing the court should toss out the label entirely and leave Sean “Diddy” Combs and his team to duke it out with Sara. As for the federal counts, UMG claims they’re barred by the statute of limitations. If that doesn’t sound spicy enough, they also lean on New York’s preemption rules — essentially arguing that state law claims should replace any federal ones, rendering the entire portion of the complaint a non-starter.
Judge’s gavel is still up in the air, but UMG’s motion to dismiss is as confident as a headliner storming offstage. The filing delivers a not-so-subtle message: “If you want Diddy, go after him — we’re out.” Of course, dismissals are rarely rubber-stamped, so expect more briefs, counters, and a whole lot of legal jargon flying around in the coming months.
At the end of the day, UMG is playing the corporate dodgeball they’re so famous for—ducking responsibility to stay out of a messy public spectacle. Will the judge side with the label’s argument that Rivers’ claims against them belong in the trash can? Or will Sara’s legal squad manage to convince the court that UMG has more culpability than the paperwork suggests? Stay tuned: because in entertainment litigation, the next plot twist is always just one filing away. And that’s today’s dose of reality. You’re welcome.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ, Billboard
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
