Tony Buzbee Still Has To Deal With Jay-Z’s Defamation Countersuit
An anti-SLAPP is still a great boon for him. The post Tony Buzbee Still Has To Deal With Jay-Z’s Defamation Countersuit appeared first on Above the Law.
After Tony Buzbee withdrew an unknown woman’s sexual assault lawsuit against Jay-Z two weeks ago, the fog around Jay-Z’s name began to clear up. Can’t say the same for Buzbee though — accusing famous and wealthy people isn’t without consequence. Not only did it cost him being able to practice in New York’s Southern district, Jay-Z countersued Buzbee, accusing him of defamation and extortion. While Buzbee is still in hot water, a judge recently decided to turn the temperature down for him a little. Law360 has coverage:
A California state judge said Tuesday that he’s inclined to toss Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s extortion claims against personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee and some, but not all, of the rapper’s defamation allegations stemming from a now-abandoned rape lawsuit.
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Judge Epstein’s tentative ruling would strike the extortion claim under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which blocks frivolous lawsuits that seek to limit free speech. The judge said Buzbee’s demand letter is clearly protected litigation activity.
“Selling silence for money in the civil context is not extortion,” the tentative ruling said. “It is a settlement with a non-disclosure element.”
The protected status of some of the claims is still up for grabs. For example, Jay-Z could still sue Buzbee for defamation, but it would be difficult to prove that Buzbee knew that what he was saying was untruthful. Given that Buzbee’s team ran a background check on and did several interviews with the anonymous woman who eventually dropped the suit against Jay-Z and Diddy, it does look like they did their due diligence of asking questions and sussing out the strength of the case before making the allegations public. Either way, it’s looking to be a hard knock life for Buzbee — legally speaking — in the months to come.
Jay-Z’s Claims Against Buzbee May Get Trimmed, Judge Says [Law360]
Earlier: Jay-Z Caught Up In Diddy Freakoff Fallout
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
The post Tony Buzbee Still Has To Deal With Jay-Z’s Defamation Countersuit appeared first on Above the Law.
