A California judge reversed course again Monday and fully dismissed Jay-Z's extortion and defamation case against Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee.

In a 65-page ruling, Los Angeles County Judge Mark Epstein said he was not  wholly satisfied  with his decision, but he tried to balance the competing interests at play and would wait for the Court of Appeal to step in to determine whether he was  right or wrong.  He ended his ruling with the phrase,  stay tuned. 

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, sued Buzbee last year, alleging the prominent Houston attorney knew he was spreading false claims when he filed a lawsuit accusing Carter of raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean  Diddy  Combs at a New York party 25 years ago. Carter claims Buzbee sent him two demand letters in early November 2023 seeking money to settle the allegations privately. Weeks later, Carter claims, Buzbee named him as the previously unidentified John Doe co-defendant in Jane Doe's lawsuit against Combs because he refused to pay up in a secret settlement.

 There is no demand for a particular sum of money, although that is not enough to protect the Letters. The real problem for Carter is that the mediation request is about the sexual abuse allegations underpinning a potential civil case, and nothing else. There are no extraneous allegations as to publicizing other unrelated and unsavory things related to Carter and there are no promises to refrain from going to law enforcement if Carter agrees to mediate and does settle,  Epstein wrote in his long-awaited decision.

 While it is true that the alleged conduct here constitutes criminal activity, defendants fall well short of threatening to go to the police unless Carter pays up,  Epstein said.  Selling silence as to law enforcement for money is extortion, but there is no promise of silence in the criminal context here. And selling silence for money in the civil context is not extortion; it is a settlement with a non-disclosure element.  Editor's picks

 We are surprised and disappointed by this ruling which turns on the misapplication of California law on the admissibility of th

#rollingstone  #podcastdailynews