Conley/Houston
Chronicle
via
Getty
Images)
After
Tony
Buzbee
withdrew
an
unknown
woman’s
sexual
assault
lawsuit
against
Jay-Z
two
weeks
ago,
the
fog
around
Jay-Z’s
name
began
to
clear
up.
Can’t
say
the
same
for
Buzbee
though
—
accusing
famous
and
wealthy
people
isn’t
without
consequence.
Not
only
did
it
cost
him
being
able
to
practice
in
New
York’s
Southern
district,
Jay-Z
countersued
Buzbee,
accusing
him
of
defamation
and
extortion.
While
Buzbee
is
still
in
hot
water,
a
judge
recently
decided
to
turn
the
temperature
down
for
him
a
little.
Law360
has
coverage:
A
California
state
judge
said
Tuesday
that
he’s
inclined
to
toss
Shawn
“Jay-Z”
Carter’s
extortion
claims
against
personal
injury
lawyer
Tony
Buzbee
and
some,
but
not
all,
of
the
rapper’s
defamation
allegations
stemming
from
a
now-abandoned
rape
lawsuit.
…
Judge
Epstein’s
tentative
ruling
would
strike
the
extortion
claim
under
California’s
anti-SLAPP
statute,
which
blocks
frivolous
lawsuits
that
seek
to
limit
free
speech.
The
judge
said
Buzbee’s
demand
letter
is
clearly
protected
litigation
activity.“Selling
silence
for
money
in
the
civil
context
is
not
extortion,”
the
tentative
ruling
said.
“It
is
a
settlement
with
a
non-disclosure
element.”
The
protected
status
of
some
of
the
claims
is
still
up
for
grabs.
For
example,
Jay-Z
could
still
sue
Buzbee
for
defamation,
but
it
would
be
difficult
to
prove
that
Buzbee
knew
that
what
he
was
saying
was
untruthful.
Given
that
Buzbee’s
team
ran
a
background
check
on
and
did
several
interviews
with
the
anonymous
woman
who
eventually
dropped
the
suit
against
Jay-Z
and
Diddy,
it
does
look
like
they
did
their
due
diligence
of
asking
questions
and
sussing
out
the
strength
of
the
case
before
making
the
allegations
public.
Either
way,
it’s
looking
to
be
a
hard
knock
life
for
Buzbee
—
legally
speaking
—
in
the
months
to
come.
Jay-Z’s
Claims
Against
Buzbee
May
Get
Trimmed,
Judge
Says
[Law360]
Earlier:
Jay-Z
Caught
Up
In
Diddy
Freakoff
Fallout
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.