U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York dismissed all 18 causes of action in singer Dawn Richard's civil lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs on June 12, 2026, ruling that the claims were filed after the applicable statutes of limitations had run [1][2]. The court dismissed the majority of counts with prejudice, foreclosing any refiling in federal court on those claims [1].
Richard, a former member of the R&B group Danity Kane, alleged a pattern of assault, groping, and unlawful imprisonment during her time in Combs's professional orbit [1][2]. Judge Failla found that the alleged conduct at issue had ceased by approximately 2011 to 2012, placing the events more than a decade before Richard filed suit [2]. Because the governing limitations periods had expired before the complaint was filed, the court did not reach the underlying merits of the allegations.
One count brought under the New York Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law received different treatment. Judge Failla dismissed that claim without prejudice, leaving Richard the option to refile it in state court [1][2]. The Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law has been a recurring vehicle in litigation of this kind, given its extended lookback window for certain claims, though that window did not save the count in federal court here.
The ruling represents a procedural, not substantive, victory for Combs. The dismissal turns entirely on timeliness and does not constitute a judicial finding on the truth or falsity of Richard's allegations [2]. Combs faces a separate federal criminal indictment in the Southern District of New York on charges including sex trafficking and racketeering, and dozens of additional civil suits remain pending against him [1][2]. The criminal proceedings are on a distinct track and are unaffected by this ruling.
Richard retains the option to pursue the Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law claim in New York state court, where the procedural posture and applicable limitations analysis may differ [1]. Whether she files in state court, and on what timeline, has not been publicly confirmed. The ruling may invite similar statute-of-limitations challenges in other pending civil matters involving Combs, depending on the timing of alleged conduct alleged in those complaints.