New Lawsuit Targets Puff Daddy

March 26, 2001 -- The legal team for Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs doesn't get much downtime. Yet another lawsuit was filed Thursday against the frequently sued rap millionaire, who just a week before had been acquitted of gun possession and bribery in a much publicized New York trial.

The latest lawsuit emerged from Detroit, alleging that Combs and members of his entourage attacked syndicated television host Roger Mills after an August 1999 interview.

"As we have yet to be served with this complaint, we are unable to comment on specific allegations," Combs spokeswoman Nathalie Moar told The Associated Press late Friday. "However, any claim that Mr. Combs participated in any wrongdoing is totally false. Furthermore, facilitating the press with this baseless complaint is a blatant attempt to exploit Mr. Combs' celebrity for media attention."

Mills' lawyer, Hugh Davis, said that during the interview, his client asked Combs to comment on allegations that he had contributed to the 1997 shooting death of his friend, rapper Notorious B.I.G., according to the AP.

Davis said Combs became upset and immediately terminated the interview. When Mills refused to sell or give away a videotape of the interview, "he was prevented from leaving, and they demanded the tape be turned over. He declined, and they physically took it from him and apparently destroyed the camera," Davis told the news service.

Detroit police made no arrests.

"There was an incident, but we could not identify the perpetrators," Detroit Police Cmdr. Arnold Wicker told the AP. "We readily admit that there was an incident."

Davis said Mills sought to resolve the matter by seeking an apology but never received one. The filing of the suit, he said, was delayed by the recent court case.

Combs faces several other civil lawsuits stemming from the same incident for which he recently stood trial. In the wake of his acquittal, his lawyers are aiming for these suits to be dismissed.