The legal war between Tony Buzbee and Jay-Z took a new turn Wednesday, when Buzbee filed a lawsuit accusing the mogul’s company Roc Nation of hiring “shadowy operatives” to discredit the attorney.
Buzbee is representing 120 alleged victims of Sean “Diddy” Combs, including a woman who accused the Bad Boy Records founder and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of taking turns raping her in 2000 when she was 13-years-old. Both Jay-Z and Diddy have denied the woman’s allegations.
Since the woman’s lawsuit was filed in October, Jay-Z and Buzbee have been locked in a fierce legal battle. Meanwhile, the accuser has admitted parts of her story don’t add up.
In a new twist on Dec. 18, Buzbee filed a lawsuit in Harris County, Texas, on behalf of a former client named Gerardo Garcia.
In the complaint obtained by Urban Hollywood 411, Garcia listed several defendants including Roc Nation and attorneys with the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP.
Related: Jay-Z Accuser Admits ‘Mistakes’ and Inconsistencies – Rapper Says ‘Justice Is Coming’
The complaint alleges the defendants conspired to obstruct justice by sending out operatives with “fake badges,” who pretended to work for the state of Texas.
According to Garcia, their goal was to harass current and former clients of the Buzbee Law Firm, and “convince those clients to bring frivolous cases” against the firm. The lawsuit claims the “investigators” have been offering clients as much as $10,000 to “file false claims.”
The complaint alleges “Roc Nation is financing the effort,” and attorneys at Quinn Emanuel are “orchestrating” the operation to harm Buzbee’s reputation.
Jay-Z’s high profile attorney Alex Spiro is a partner at Quinn Emanuel, however Spiro is not among the lawyers named in the lawsuit.
Garcia is seeking damages to be determined at trial, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.
In a statement to the Houston Chronicle, a spokesperson for Quinn Emanuel said Buzbee’s “frivolous lawsuit is an attempt to distract from his other frivolous lawsuits.”
“We have no idea what he is talking about,” the statement read.
Buzbee posted a lengthy statement about the lawsuit on Instagram Wednesday, and noted that impersonating a state official is a crime in Texas.
“This illegal conduct has happened more than two dozen times to date and has resulted in two utterly frivolous cases against the firm,” the statement read. “The lawsuit filed today alleges that the Defendants’ conspiracy is intended to obstruct justice and prevent the Buzbee Law Firm from pursuing cases related to the Diddy litigation in New York. The conduct isn’t just alleged — it was caught on tape.”
On Dec. 10, Buzbee posted a picture of fake “investigators” on Instagram that he claimed approached a client. The attorney included a transcript from the encounter and said the men reportedly told the client: “We could get you paid” for your cooperation.
Buzbee’s previous post is below:
