Flame-Smacking Diddy Walloped with Assault Suit

Mon., Mar. 5, 2007 5:23 PM PST by Natalie Finn

The man allegedly roughed up by Sean "Diddy" Combs on Oscar night has come out swinging.

Gerard Rechnitzer has sued the rap mogul for assault and battery, saying that Combs "intentionally, willfully, knowingly and unlawfully attacked, assaulted and battered" Rechnitzer in the parking lot of Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel after a post-Academy Awards party at famed nightspot Teddy's.

According to the lawsuit, Combs' actions caused Rechnitzer to "fly backwards several feet" and hit a parked vehicle that was behind him, after which Combs pushed Rechnitzer's girlfriend and attempted to spit on one of their friends.

Rechnitzer has also accused Combs of negligence and is seeking unspecified damages for the incident that, per court documents filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, occurred "without any provocation on the part of the plaintiff."

At around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 26, Rechnitzer and his party were leaving the Roosevelt, when he saw his girlfriend talking to Combs, the lawsuit states. After receiving the okay from Diddy's entourage to approach the No Way Out artist, Rechnitzer went over and stood next to the pair while they continued their conversation.

Then, the complaint states, Combs suddenly looked at Rechnitzer "in a threatening and ominous manner" and yelled, "What the f--- you looking at, dude?" followed by, "I'll smack flames out your ass!"

TMZ.com reported at the time that Rechnitzer tried to get his lady to leave with him after about five minutes of chitchat, but that Combs invited her to accompany him to another party. Then, per the Website, the seemingly disgruntled boyfriend interrupted the conversation yet again to press his case, after which Combs supposedly let him have it.

Either way, the aforementioned altercation ensued, according to Rechnitzer's suit, and Combs and his crew drove away—but not before the Sean John designer stuck his upper body out of the passenger-side window and "stared Plaintiff down in a threatening and menacing manner."

Rechnitzer then filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department, which is still investigating the complaint, a spokesman for the city attorney's office told E! Online.

Meanwhile, Combs' camp is denying that anything resembling what Rechnitzer described went down. "Mr. Combs did not hit anyone and Mr. Rechnitzer suffered no injuries or damages whatsoever. This case is completely baseless. It is just another example of an opportunist seeking to fabricate a lawsuit based on a flat-out lie," his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said.

It's doubtful that any of this West Coast commotion will be putting a hitch in Combs' travel plans. The Diddy and Snoop Dogg Tour is heading across the pond this week, with the duo expected to touch down in Finland on Friday.

Once the rappers reach London on Mar. 27, however, make that the P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg Tour. A British court ruled last week that the "Diddy" moniker violated an agreement Combs had with record producer Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, and therefore he's no longer allowed to go by that name within the confines of the U.K.