Tony Buzbee sues Jay-Z’s Roc Nation for allegedly soliciting his clients to file ‘frivolous’ lawsuits against his firm
Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee holds a press conference at his office announcing the over 100 individual cases he has against Sean Diddy Combs on Oct. 1
By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN
(CNN) — Attorney Tony Buzbee is suing Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, accusing the entertainment company of soliciting his firm’s clients in an effort to get them to sue his firm.
In a separate lawsuit, Buzbee is representing a woman identified as “Jane Doe” who alleges she was raped by Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z more than two decades ago, when she was then 13. Jay-Z, whose given name is Shawn Carter, has denied the allegations and sued Buzbee for extortion, claiming that he is shaking down celebrities for his own personal gain.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Texas, Buzbee claims that Roc Nation has financed and Carter’s attorneys at the law firm Quinn Emanuel have orchestrated an effort to solicit his clients to bring cases against Buzbee.
“Defendants have conspired to obstruct justice by engaging shadowy operatives to illegally seek out more than two dozen current and former clients of The Buzbee Law Firm to convince those clients to bring frivolous cases against The Buzbee Law Firm,” the lawsuit states.
Buzbee claims in the lawsuit that more than two dozen clients of his firm have been solicited, alleging that some have been approached by individuals who “pretend to work for the State of Texas” who have “flashed fake badges.”
The lawsuit states that his firm’s clients have provided audio of alleged interactions in which the individuals were offered money to take action against Buzbee. The suit includes transcripts of the alleged conversations. Former clients began to be contacted after Buzbee had sent a demand letter to Carter’s lawyers in November, according to the lawsuit.
Buzbee told CNN on Wednesday that he will provide the court the audio recordings as evidence, should they be requested. (CNN has not listened to the audio recordings and cannot independently verify the authenticity of the transcripts included in Wednesday’s filing.)
“Paying individuals to file false claims is unethical and criminal in the State of Texas. Impersonating a state official is a crime. In at least one case, Defendants’ agents offered as much as $10,000 to a former client of the Buzbee Law Firm to sue the firm,” the complaint reads. “Their agents were caught on audiotape, red handed.”
Buzbee is suing Roc Nation, Quinn Emanuel and others he claims are associated in the so-called solicitation “scheme” for barratry and conspiracy to commit barratry in the state of Texas.
The suit is being filed on behalf of a former client of The Buzbee Law Firm, who claims he was subject to solicitation and offered money to sue Buzbee’s firm. The complaint states that this former client was contacted “out of the blue” by two individuals claiming to be investigators looking into Buzbee’s firm.
To date, Buzbee’s firm on behalf of clients has filed 20 lawsuits against Combs that include allegations of sexual assault. Attorneys for Combs have denied the allegations.
“This conduct was specifically targeted at our firm so we would not pursue cases related to the Diddy litigation,” Buzbee told CNN in a statement. “But, we will not be bullied or intimidated.”
A spokesperson for Roc Nation, the entertainment company which Carter founded in 2008, denied Buzbee’s accusations, calling the lawsuit “baloney.”
“Tony Buzbee’s baloney lawsuit against Roc Nation is nothing but another sham,” a spokesperson for Roc Nation told CNN in a statement. “It’s a pathetic attempt to distract and deflect attention. This sideshow won’t change the ultimate outcome and true justice will be served soon.”
A spokesperson for Quinn Emanuel also denied the accusations.
“We assume this frivolous lawsuit is an attempt to distract from his other frivolous lawsuits,” the firm’s spokesperson told CNN. “We have no idea what he is talking about.”
At a meeting with reporters earlier this week, Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, highlighted a number of inconsistencies in Doe’s case that he said proves his client is innocent. When asked by a reporter about investigators who have allegedly been hired to investigate Buzbee’s firm, Spiro said his firm had no involvement.
On Wednesday, Spiro in a new filing asked the court for an order to preserve evidence, citing what they allege is Buzbee’s “misconduct” in handling Doe’s case, and to strike her complaint. In the filing, Spiro wrote that Buzbee “failed to vet” Doe’s allegations before filing his complaint against Carter. Spiro’s filing also said that inconsistencies in Jane Doe’s case prove that her allegations against Jay-Z are “meritless.”
Buzbee on Monday told CNN that his firm vetted Doe’s claims through a series of interviews with a “seasoned investigator” and by performing a background check on her. He acknowledged that his firm is still continuing to vet her claims.
The-CNN-Wire
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