Rapper JAY-Z's request to file a motion to dismiss assault case against him is granted

Friday, January 3, 2025 - Jay-Z is reportedly making progress in his ongoing legal battle against an Alabama woman who accuses him of s3xually ass@ulting her more than 24 years ago.

Judge Analisa Torres on Thursday, January 2, granted a request made by the legal team of the 55-year-old rapper, whose name is Shawn Carter, to enter a dismissal motion in the case. 

'Carter's request to file a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's amended complaint is GRANTED,' Torres wrote in court documents posted by law journalist Meghann Cuniff on X/Twitter Thursday.

Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing the rapper's accuser - who identifies herself as Jane Doe in court documents - issued a December 31 response objecting to the request, which is due to the court by February 6.

The court stated that Jay-Z's accuser has until February 28 to 'file her opposition papers,' leaving Jay-Z and his team until March 14 to 'file his reply, if any.'

Cuniff noted that 'judges deciding dismissal motions are to assume the facts alleged are true' and that 'the arguments are about legal issues such as statute of limitations etc.'

Torres requires lawyers to seek the permission of the court prior to entering a motion filing, Cuniff said.

In court documents filed on December 30 by Jay-Z's legal team, led by attorney Alex Spiro, attorneys said that Jay-Z sent the plaintiff a message on December 19 flagging a number of issues they felt spurred a dismissal of the case, citing a combo of technicalities, expired deadlines, and the locations involved.

Jay-Z's legal team said that his accuser was 'required - but failed' to address the issued specified in the letter within a period of five business days, a timeframe which concluded December 27.

Spiro said Buzbee, who is representing the woman who says she was raped by Jay-Z and Sean 'Diddy' Combs, 55, when she was 13 - glossed over critical details that nullify the case, TMZ reported Monday after reviewing legal documents.

Jay-Z's accuser said she was assaulted by the rapper and Combs at an MTV Music Awards afterparty in September of 2000.

Spiro previously informed the court of his intention to file a dismissal motion, citing the timing of the events in question, as the legal statute the woman is suing under - the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act - had not been implemented until three months later in December of 2000, the outlet reported.

'The GMV Law was not enacted until December 19, 2000, three months after [Jay-Z's accuser] claims the conduct occurred, and cannot apply retroactively to create a cause of action unavailable to Plaintiff at the time in question,' Jay-Z's lawyers said in the December 30 filing.

They added that 'a contrary conclusion would violate both state and federal due process protections.'