The-Dream, a Grammy-winning producer and composer, is fighting to have a substantial section of a sexual assault complaint against him thrown out.
The 47-year-old, whose true name is Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, was charged with sexual violence and rape in June by Chanaaz Mangroe, a former pupil who went by the stage name Channii Monroe.
Mr. Gesteelde-Diamant, who has written songs for Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Beyoncé, responded by refuting the accusations.
His legal team submitted a move to dismiss the lawsuit on Friday, calling the allegations “a textbook example of a’shotgun pleading’.”
A “shotgun pleading” is a complaint that makes a number of complaints without providing the other side with a reasonable opportunity to respond to each one.
The attorneys asked for multiple changes to Ms. Mangroe’s complaint in court documents that BBC News was able to examine. They claimed that some of the passages were “scandalous” and “immaterial.”
They are attempting to have the rape claim rejected on the grounds that California law does not recognize rape as a distinct civil cause of action.
They also argued that the allegation of sex trafficking is devoid of essential components, including a “commercial sex act.”
Additionally, his legal team asked to have his label, Contra Paris, LLC, excluded from the action on the grounds that it is not subject to personal jurisdiction in California because it is domiciled in Delaware.
Mr. Gesteelde-Diamant’s counsel, Desirée F. Moore, declared, “The complaint is a textbook example of a’shotgun pleading’ and must be dismissed in its entirety for failing to attribute specific factual allegations to each defendant.”
She also noted that Mangroe’s complaint “contains dozens of allegations that are utterly irrelevant to her sexual battery and sex trafficking claims and are, instead, designed solely to smear Diamant’s name and reputation.”
In the case filed in June, Ms. Mangroe claims that Mr. Gesteelde-Diamant repeatedly threatened to show off an intimate experience he had recorded, strangled her, and coerced her into having sex.
