Diddy, bodyguard sued by man for 1996 physical assault outside New York City club

Sean "Diddy" Combs and his bodyguards are being sued by an Atlanta man for assault and battery.

The man, DeWitt Gilmore, accused Combs and his security of physically assaulting him outside of a New York City club in 1996, according to a lawsuit filed in a New York federal court Sunday and obtained Thursday by USA TODAY.

The lawsuit comes amid a mountain of sexual assault lawsuits against the embroiled music mogul.

Gilmore said the incident occurred in the summer of 1996, on a New York City street after exiting a nightclub. The man claims he and two friends were heading to his car and preparing to leave when Combs, driven by his bodyguard, pulled up and began ridiculing him.

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He said Combs threatened him with violence and aimed derogatory language at him. Gilmore said the verbal altercation escalated when armed members of Combs' entourage pulled up and blocked his car. Shots were then allegedly fired, with Gilmore and his friends fleeing.

USA TODAY has contacted Combs' reps for comment.

"Fearing for his life," Gilmore and the men "were aggressively chased through the dark city streets and managed to evade the scene by accelerating through traffic, narrowly escaping a potentially deadly ambush," according to the suit. The man does not say whether he or his friends were shot in the incident.

Gilmore seeks a jury trial and $5 million for "emotional distress, physical harm, lost opportunities, and reputational damage."

Gilmore claims he feared "continued harassment and possible violent retribution" at the time, but a recent conversation with one of the men there that night "brought forth new insight and testimonial evidence."

In the lawsuit, Gilmore's legal team makes a preemptive argument to "reopen the case beyond the usual statute of limitations." They cite newly uncovered evidence and "the unique circumstances of intimidation and safety concerns that delayed earlier action," as justification for the lawsuit. In New York, the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits for assault and battery is typically one year.

The lawsuit comes after a wave of lawsuits alleging decades of sexual and physical abuse against Combs, who is in custody at the Special Housing Unit at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center after his September arrest and subsequent arraignment for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution charges; he has pleaded not guilty and is set to face a criminal trial May 5.

Diddy arrestpunctuates long history of legal troubles: Unraveling old lawsuits, allegations

The Bad Boy Records founder has been at the center of a steady stream of legal entanglements from the 1990s on that seem to presage his current predicament. These run from chaos at concerts and threats against a record executive and TV host to the infamous 1999 New York City nightclub shooting involving Jennifer Lopez and Shyne.

Contributing: Marco della Cava