Cardi B Lawsuit: Inside the $24M Assault Trial Verdict

A Los Angeles County jury unanimously found Cardi B not liable in the $24 million Cardi B assault lawsuit brought by former security guard Emani Ellis, returning its verdict on September 2, 2025, after less than an hour of deliberation.¹ The jurors rejected every claim Ellis had brought, including assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and false imprisonment. Ellis received nothing. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied in December 2025.

What Ellis Said Happened

The suit grew out of a brief encounter on February 24, 2018, in a Beverly Hills medical office building. Cardi B, then roughly four months pregnant and not yet public about it, had come to see her obstetrician on the fifth floor.² Ellis, then 25, was working as a security guard in the building.

Ellis testified that she said “Wow, it’s Cardi B” aloud as the rapper stepped off the elevator, and that Cardi B turned on her, accused her of telling people about the visit, spat on her, jabbed a finger in her face, used racial slurs and body-shaming language, and scratched her left cheek with long acrylic fingernails, leaving a permanent scar.³ She said the encounter left her with anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD, and that she left security work afterward to become a social worker.

Ellis filed suit in February 2020, two years after the incident, seeking $24 million. Her plastic surgeon, Dr. Brent Moelleken, who treated her in 2022 at a cost of $17,500, testified that the marks on her face were “highly suggestive of fingernail injury.” Her mother and grandmother testified about her emotional decline.²

What Cardi B Said Happened

Cardi B, whose legal name is Belcalis Almánzar, testified that Ellis appeared to be recording her on a phone and that an argument broke out, but she insisted the confrontation was “strictly verbal,” lasting about 60 to 90 seconds, with no physical contact.⁴ Her attorney, Peter Anderson, framed her as the vulnerable party in a confined space: pregnant, about 130 pounds, and confronted by someone larger.⁵

Why the Jury Sided With Cardi B

Two witnesses who were actually present that day gave testimony that cut against Ellis’s account. Dr. David Finke, Cardi B’s obstetrician, described what he called an “epic yelling match” but said he never saw Cardi B strike, scratch, or spit on Ellis. He testified that he saw Ellis hit his receptionist.⁶ The receptionist, Tierra Malcolm, corroborated that account, testifying she had stepped between the two women and was scratched on the forehead by Ellis, with Cardi B behind her at the time.⁷

Anderson also worked on inconsistencies in Ellis’s story, including whether the alleged scratch was on her cheek or her nose, and the absence of any photographs taken at the time.⁵ The defense called psychiatrist Dr. James E. Rosenberg, who had evaluated Ellis in 2023 and concluded there was no significant evidence of emotional injury tied to the incident. He said her symptom scores were consistent with “fabrication or exaggeration.”²

Rulings That Shaped the Trial

Judge Ian C. Fusselman of Los Angeles County Superior Court presided, and several pretrial rulings narrowed what jurors would hear.⁸ He barred Ellis’s attorneys from asking Cardi B about “prior bad acts,” including her history as an exotic dancer, alleged past gang associations, prior altercations, drug use, and media controversies, finding those topics had “no apparent probative value” and would be “unduly prejudicial and likely to confuse the jury.”⁹

The judge also ordered the trial bifurcated. Phase one would decide whether the assault occurred; only if Cardi B were found liable would jurors move to a second phase examining her finances to calculate damages.² Ellis’s original complaint had included a claim that Cardi B used her celebrity to get Ellis fired from her security job, but that employment claim was dropped at the start of trial.¹⁰

The Gang Question and the Sanction

On August 26, 2025, Ellis’s attorney Ron A. Rosen Janfaza asked Cardi B on the stand, “Do you have any affiliation at this time with a gang?” The question directly violated the pretrial order.⁸ On January 28, 2026, Judge Fusselman issued a six-page ruling fining Janfaza $1,500, calling the question a “knowing and intentional violation” and rejecting Janfaza’s explanations that he was sleep-deprived and that an office manager had drafted it. Janfaza was ordered to self-report the sanction to the California State Bar within 30 days and to pay by February 27, 2026, or face collections.⁹ The judge also signaled he planned to require Janfaza to pay defense attorney’s fees tied to a contempt request over references at trial to a barred psychologist.¹¹

The Pen Incident and Motion for a New Trial

During a lunch break on the day of the verdict, a man in the press pool outside the Alhambra courthouse asked Cardi B about her ex-husband Offset and about possible “paternity issues” with her boyfriend, NFL player Stefon Diggs. Cardi B grabbed a pen from a bystander and threw it at him, saying, “Stop disrespecting me.”¹² No criminal charges followed.

On October 31, 2025, Janfaza filed a motion for a new trial. He argued jurors may have been intimidated by witnessing the pen episode and that Cardi B’s defense had improperly withheld the identities of Dr. Finke and Tierra Malcolm. Cardi B’s attorneys called the motion “entirely frivolous” and “absurd,” noting no evidence jurors saw the incident and that the plaintiff’s team had already known about the witnesses. Judge Fusselman denied the motion on December 5, 2025, finding “no basis to overturn the unanimous verdict” and saying, “I don’t find anything outside the courtroom had any impact on the jury’s deliberations.”¹¹

Appeal Status

Ellis’s attorney said after the verdict that she planned to appeal.¹³ As of early 2026, no formal appeal had been reported. Ellis, speaking to reporters after the verdict, said, “We did our best,” and told them she had “no regrets.”²

1
NBC Los Angeles. Cardi B Avoids $24M Payout as LA Jury Sides With Rapper in Civil Lawsuit
2
Court TV. Emani Ellis v. Cardi B Daily Trial Updates
3
Court TV. Ex-Security Guard Testifies Cardi B Cursed at Her, Spat on Her, Cut Her
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Court TV. Cardi B Testifies in Her Civil Assault Trial
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Yahoo Entertainment. Cardi B Lawyer Denies Rapper Assaulted Security Guard
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Los Angeles Times. Cardi B Civil Trial Receptionist Doctor Testify
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Vibe. Cardi B Major Assist Witness Testimony Assault Trial
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People. Cardi B Judge Fines Lawyer $1,500 for Asking Gang Affiliation During Civil Assault Trial
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Rolling Stone. Cardi B Trial Judge Fines Lawyer Gang Question Gaffe
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Rolling Stone. Cardi B Testifies Security Guard Assault Trial
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Rolling Stone. Cardi B Security Guard Trial Win
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Los Angeles Times. Cardi B Hurls Pen After Disrespectful Pregnancy Question at Assault Trial
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CNN. Cardi B Civil Trial Verdict