I-Team: Attorney who sued Deshaun Watson, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, now being sued on allegations of extortion
[Attached video includes a previous I-Team story in which Tony Buzbee is featured]
CLEVELAND (WJW) — The attorney who filed more than 20 lawsuits against Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is now being sued by an anonymous celebrity who alleges the lawyer is trying to extort him.
Atty. Tony Buzbee, who also recently filed several cases of sexual assault against Sean “Diddy” Combs, told the Fox 8 I-Team Monday the lawsuit is “frivolous.”
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The Fox 8 I-Team obtained a copy of the 17 page lawsuit filed Nov. 18 in the Superior Court of the State of California by Atty. Michael Lifrak, of the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP.
“Plaintiff John Doe is the victim of a scheme by Defendant Anthony G. Buzbee and his firm, The Buzbee Law Firm (collectively, “Buzbee” or “Defendants”), who are shamelessly attempting to extort exorbitant sums from him or else publicly file wildly false horrific allegations against him,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants have threatened to unleash entirely fabricated and malicious allegations of sexual assault—including multiple instances of rape of a minor, both male and female—against Plaintiff if he refuses to comply with their demands. These baseless accusations are nothing more than a weapon in a calculated plot to destroy Plaintiff’s high-profile reputation for profit, despite the complete absence of any factual basis for such claims.”
The suit accuses The Buzbee Law Firm and Buzbee of extortion and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“This is not the first time Defendants have been involved in an extortionate scheme to extract money from high profile individuals by threatening baseless legal action,” the lawsuit states. “Just three years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) opened an extortion investigation in connection with Defendants’ clients pursuit of football player Deshaun Watson for allegations of sexual misconduct. According to Watson’s then-attorney, the FBI investigated ‘whether one of Buzbee’s claimants against Watson had committed extortion in the way they were demanding money…or what they would do if he didn’t pay up.’ Ultimately, the criminal cases Defendant threatened to pursue against Watson were rejected by two separate grand juries and were never criminally prosecuted, further evidence that the baseless sexual misconduct claims in Defendants’ demand letter would not have held up in civil court either. As an example of how the Defendants use the media as a weapon to further exert pressure on his high-profile targets, Buzbee publicly proclaimed that he would submit affidavits from the alleged victims to police, but he never did.”
Watson settled nearly two dozen cases filed by Buzbee and his clients.
The I-Team reached out to Buzbee to discuss the matter.
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“Here is what I know. I’ve been sued twice now so far and it’s being coordinated by a law firm from New York who reps a celebrity who I sent a demand letter to,” Buzbee stated in an email. “Just today I’ve had multiple ex employees tell me they have been contacted by a New York investigation firm attempting to convince them to disclose information and/or encouraging them to bring claims against me and my firm. The coordinated cases filed against me are frivolous and are an attempt to scare my clients. I intend to get costs and attorney fees against those who filed them. I also intend to expose the law firm and that firm’s client who is behind this effort. I won’t let my clients be silenced by bullying tactics. I’m surprised you would be a pawn in this scheme by even giving this effort any air play.”
The recent lawsuit further states, “In the wake of explosive allegations against Sean Combs (a/k/a “P. Diddy,” a/k/a “Puff Daddy,” a/k/a “Diddy,” a/k/a “PD,” and a/k/a “Love”) in lawsuits filed by eight women and one man, resulting in his indictment for racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation for purposes of prostitution, Defendants have managed to find some 120 plaintiffs (half male and half female), including 25 minors, who claim to have been sexually assaulted by Combs and others. Much like other revelations in the #MeToo Movement, the eight women and one man suing Combs sought to find justice by proceeding in their own names in a court of law. Meanwhile, Defendants have created a new pocket industry that capitalizes on the bravery of those victims who came forward to shakedown innocent celebrities, politicians, and businesspeople with an army of masked accusers.”
According to the court docket, a case management hearing on the lawsuit has been set for May 16.
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