Diddy ‘Making the Band’ Accuser Launches Appeal After Sexual Assault Case Is Dismissed

“Making the Band” contestant Sara Rivers has launched an appeal following the dismissal of her sexual assault lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Rivers, who became a member of group Da Band, sued Combs earlier this year, accusing him of sexually harassing and groping her during the filming of the 2000s MTV reality show. But a federal judge tossed out the case last month, ruling that she had waited far too long to sue.

That won’t be the final ruling on the case. In a motion filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, Rivers said she would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which could revive the lawsuit against Diddy.

The appeal, which has not yet been filed, will center on the statute of limitations. The ruling against Rivers said that her case – over conduct that allegedly took place during the filming of a 2000s MTV reality show – was clearly filed years after the time limits to do so had expired.

“It is important to remember the many positive purposes served by statutes of limitations,” the judge wrote at the time. “They promote justice by preventing surprises through plaintiffs’ revival of claims that have been allowed to slumber until evidence has been lost, memories have faded, and witnesses have disappeared.”

Detailed arguments for Rivers’ appeal have not yet been filed in court. The appellate process could take months or years to resolve.

Following a blockbuster trial, Diddy was largely acquitted in July on criminal charges that accused him of coercing women to engage in drug-fueled sex parties. The jury rejected the most serious charges leveled against him by prosecutors, including racketeering (RICO) and sex-trafficking.

But Combs is hardly out of the woods. He was still found guilty on two lesser counts of interstate prostitution that could see him face several years in prison. And he’s still facing dozens of civil lawsuits over alleged sexual misconduct.

One of those cases was filed by Rivers, who claims that Combs cornered her in a recording studio and “ran his left hand across her breasts.” She says he then later blackballed her in the music industry in retaliation for rebuffing his advances.

But in a ruling last month, Judge Jed Rakoff rejected Rivers’ explanations for why she waited so long to file her case. She claimed she was afraid of retaliation from Combs and his business empire, but the judge said that simply wasn’t enough.

“While Rivers does allege that she experienced a general fear of retaliation preventing her from speaking out against Combs, general claims of psychological stress cannot give rise to duress tolling,” the judge said at the time, referring to the technical term for such a delay.

The ruling was one of two major civil victories Combs has won since the criminal trial. Weeks after the Rivers decision, another judge dismissed a civil lawsuit accusing Diddy of drugging and sexually battering a 23-year-old man at an afterparty in 2015 – citing the same problem with the statute of limitations.