Diddy accused of nightclub attack

Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing a court case claiming he punched and pushed a man and his girlfriend at a Hollywood nightclub.

Gerard Rechnitzer is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

A lawyer for Combs, 37, called the suit “completely baseless”.

Rechnitzer, 27, claims he and his girlfriend ran into Combs at the club, Teddy’s, inside the Roosevelt Hotel in the early hours of February 25.

According to the lawsuit, Combs was talking to Rechnitzer’s girlfriend when Rechnitzer approached.

Combs then yelled at Rechnitzer “in a threatening and ominous matter”.

The rap star and clothing designer then “intentionally, wilfully, knowingly and unlawfully attacked, assaulted and battered” Rechnitzer, according to court documents, causing him to “fly backward several feet” and hit a parked car.

The action also says Combs pushed Rechnitzer’s girlfriend and “attempted to spit on another female member” of Rechnitzer’s group.

Rechnitzer’s lawyer, Michael Marzban, would not comment further on the lawsuit, but Benjamin Brafman, a lawyer for Combs, said the case would be “vigorously defended”.

“It’s just another example of an opportunist seeking to fabricate a lawsuit based on a flat-out lie to try to take advantage of Mr Combs’ celebrity status,” Brafman said in a statement.

“Mr Combs did not hit anyone and Mr Rechnitzer suffered no injuries or damages whatsoever. There is no case. It is that simple.”