Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs racked up an early win in his lawsuit against a Diageo Plc unit alleging that the liquor company pays lip service to diversity while treating Black entrepreneurs worse behind the scenes.
Judge Joel M. Cohen of the Supreme Court of New York for the County of New York denied Thursday Diageo’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and its motion to force the case into arbitration.
Combs will now be able to engage in “broad discovery” aimed at uncovering evidence that the company didn’t support Combs’ liquor brands—Ciroc Vodka and DeLeón Tequila—in the same manner that it support its other brands, according to John Hueston, Combs’ attorney.
“This case has always been about getting fair and equal treatment,” Hueston said in a statement. “Today’s decision is an important step in the right direction. Diageo tried to end this action. Today the judge soundly rejected that effort.”
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