Cardi B Exonerated in Civil Lawsuit Over Security Guard Incident
In a significant victory for the Grammy-winning rapper, Los Angeles County Judge Ian Fusselman denied Emani Ellis's request for a new trial in her civil lawsuit against Cardi B. The judge found no basis to overturn the unanimous verdict, which found that Cardi B was not liable for allegedly scratching security guard Emani Ellis's face with an acrylic fingernail outside a Beverly Hills doctor's office in 2018.
Ellis had claimed that two eyewitnesses, including YouTube vlogger Donat Ricketts, should have been barred from testifying due to late disclosure. However, Judge Fusselman rejected this argument, stating that the jurors paid close attention to the trial and returned a verdict based on the evidence. He also dismissed Ellis's claim that Cardi B's actions outside the courthouse intimidated her, finding no basis for such an argument.
The incident in question occurred when Cardi B was leaving a doctor's office after a scheduled appointment. According to video footage, she threw a pen to the ground after being confronted by Donat Ricketts about her rumored pregnancy with partner Stefon Diggs. Ellis had claimed that the pen bounced off the ground and struck Ricketts.
However, Judge Fusselman agreed with Cardi B's lawyers that the pen "hit no one." He noted that Ellis's lawyer had sought a jury instruction to ensure jurors learned of the incident, but in fact, it might have supported Ellis's claims rather than intimidating them. The judge also questioned why Ellis would claim that Ricketts was intimidated when he himself claimed that AlmΓ‘nzar told him to stop disrespecting her.
Cardi B's lawyers argued that Ellis intentionally hid the identity of the obstetrician and medical office assistant who became key witnesses in her case. However, Judge Fusselman rejected this argument, finding no basis for it.
In a related development, the judge also stated that he planned to sanction Cardi B's lawyer Ron Rosen Janfaza for his conduct during the trial. The judge found that Janfaza repeatedly claimed to jurors that Ellis was treated by a psychologist, even though the doctor was barred as a witness and there was no evidence of such a meeting.
This verdict marks another win for Cardi B in her civil lawsuits against celebrities who accused her of wrongdoing. She had previously scored a $4 million jury verdict against celebrity gossip vlogger Latasha Kebe and won at a California-based federal trial where she was accused of using a portion of a man's back tattoo on the cover of her early mixtape "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1."
In a significant victory for the Grammy-winning rapper, Los Angeles County Judge Ian Fusselman denied Emani Ellis's request for a new trial in her civil lawsuit against Cardi B. The judge found no basis to overturn the unanimous verdict, which found that Cardi B was not liable for allegedly scratching security guard Emani Ellis's face with an acrylic fingernail outside a Beverly Hills doctor's office in 2018.
Ellis had claimed that two eyewitnesses, including YouTube vlogger Donat Ricketts, should have been barred from testifying due to late disclosure. However, Judge Fusselman rejected this argument, stating that the jurors paid close attention to the trial and returned a verdict based on the evidence. He also dismissed Ellis's claim that Cardi B's actions outside the courthouse intimidated her, finding no basis for such an argument.
The incident in question occurred when Cardi B was leaving a doctor's office after a scheduled appointment. According to video footage, she threw a pen to the ground after being confronted by Donat Ricketts about her rumored pregnancy with partner Stefon Diggs. Ellis had claimed that the pen bounced off the ground and struck Ricketts.
However, Judge Fusselman agreed with Cardi B's lawyers that the pen "hit no one." He noted that Ellis's lawyer had sought a jury instruction to ensure jurors learned of the incident, but in fact, it might have supported Ellis's claims rather than intimidating them. The judge also questioned why Ellis would claim that Ricketts was intimidated when he himself claimed that AlmΓ‘nzar told him to stop disrespecting her.
Cardi B's lawyers argued that Ellis intentionally hid the identity of the obstetrician and medical office assistant who became key witnesses in her case. However, Judge Fusselman rejected this argument, finding no basis for it.
In a related development, the judge also stated that he planned to sanction Cardi B's lawyer Ron Rosen Janfaza for his conduct during the trial. The judge found that Janfaza repeatedly claimed to jurors that Ellis was treated by a psychologist, even though the doctor was barred as a witness and there was no evidence of such a meeting.
This verdict marks another win for Cardi B in her civil lawsuits against celebrities who accused her of wrongdoing. She had previously scored a $4 million jury verdict against celebrity gossip vlogger Latasha Kebe and won at a California-based federal trial where she was accused of using a portion of a man's back tattoo on the cover of her early mixtape "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1."