A woman who alleges Snoop Dogg sexually assaulted her in 2013 and defamed her on the social media nine years later has won a court order regarding how many written pretrial questions the rapper’s lawyers can pose to her, which she said exceeded the limit allowed and invaded her privacy.
In her Los Angeles Superior Court suit, the woman alleges the 53-year-old Long Beach-born performer, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, forced her into a sex act in a recording studio bathroom in 2013.
The plaintiff in the suit is identified only as Jane Doe and her attorney contended in his court papers filed with Judge Thomas D. Long that defense lawyers sent 51 requests for written answers to her, 16 above the legal limit. Her attorney also maintained that some of the information sought pertains to medical records well prior to the alleged 2013 assault.
The plaintiff’s lawyers also sought $5,680 in sanctions against the singer and his lawyers. On Jan. 14, the judge heard arguments, briefly took the case under submission, found the defense request for answers to be overbroad and awarded Doe the sanctions sought.
“The plaintiff … has placed her mental and physical health at issue,” the judge wrote. “However, a request for information about her mental and physical health for ten years prior to the incident is grossly overbroad. The defendant also has not shown that information about prior substance abuse or sober living facilities is relevant.”
Broadus’ attorneys also did not adequately explain why 51 interrogatories were necessary, according to Long.
The parties were unable to resolve their disagreement over the written questions while meeting informally, Doe’s attorneys further state in their court papers while also contending their opponents are making their demands despite the case being one of basic sexual misconduct.
“The fact that this case involves egregious acts of assault and battery alone does not make a case complex enough for defendant to propound more than 35 special interrogatories,” Doe’s lawyers further argue in their court papers.
The singer’s lawyers wrongfully seek information on a decade of Doe’s medical information prior to the alleged 2013 abuse, the plaintiff’s lawyers further argue in their court papers.
“Not only are these interrogatories invasive to plaintiff’s privacy rights, harassing, and cause an undue burden upon plaintiff, they are duplicative, illustrating the excessive amount of interrogatories is unwarranted and unjustified,” according to Doe’s lawyers’ pleadings.
In her pleadings, Doe maintained she was “subjected to the most appalling sexual harassment and assault and that this was part of a common plan and practice to prey on and then intimidate and silence” women like herself who want a career in show business.
“True to form, Snoop Dogg and his minions then named and shamed plaintiff on social media and the press in a transparent attempt to intimidate her into submission with veiled threats of violence,” Doe’s court papers further state.
The performer’s attorneys acknowledged in their court papers that in February 2022 their client posted on Instagram, “Gold digger season is here be careful Nefews.” They say the two communications found actionable by the judge “were made in a public forum and directly relate to the public interest and are unquestionably protected speech.”
The rapper’s attorneys stated that Doe’s current case, filed in June 2022, is the fifth version of her litigation after the most recent previous version was dismissed in federal court. Trial of the suit is scheduled May 12.