P. Diddy Sued for $50 Million

Tue., Aug. 12, 2003 10:15 AM PDT by Lia Haberman

P. Diddy has got mo' money, mo' problems...and mo' money problems.

The rap impresario, alternately known as Sean Combs or Puffy, was slapped with a $50 million lawsuit on Monday by two men who claim to have been beaten by Combs' bodyguards for no good reason.

It's only the latest in a string of legal woes plaguing the music and fashion mogul. More about that later.

In the current suit, Thomas Guest, who claims to be Combs' childhood buddy, and Damon Jackson, a car salesman, charge they were assaulted and knocked unconscious by Combs' guards outside Daddy's House studio on New York's West 44th Street.

Apology, schmology. Now, it's going to take $25 million each to make things right.

A Combs spokesperson called the suit "totally baseless" and said the "allegations are ridiculous."

According to court documents, the men were trying to visit Combs when his security team "confronted plaintiff [Guest], threatened him and thereafter physically assaulted him, causing serious physical injuries and rendering him unconscious."

In a separate suit, Jackson claims he was assaulted while going to Guest's aid.

It's not the first time P. Diddy's goons have potentially cost him big bucks.

Last week, Combs caught a break when a North Carolina judge reduced punitive damages against him from $2 million to $450,000, stemming from a civil suit filed by a man allegedly beaten by bodyguards in Combs' employ.

Limo driver Cedrick Bobby Lemon claims he was forcibly ejected by two guards Combs hired to protect Mary J. Blige at a 1995 concert, despite having proper backstage authorization.

After the incident, Lemon was treated at a nearby hospital for a broken right wrist and bruised left hand and claims the injuries have left him broke and jobless.

Another claim racking up the billable hours for Combs' attorneys comes from former friend and business partner Kirk Burrowes. On June 30, he launched a $25 million breach of contract and racketeering suit, claiming that a baseball bat-wielding Combs stormed into Burrowes' office and threatened to make like Robert De Niro in The Untouchables unless Burrowes signed over his 25 percent stake in Bad Boy Entertainment.