Roc Nation Lawsuit: Buzbee Suit, Jay-Z Counter-Suits, and Doe Case

Roc Nation, the entertainment and sports company Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter founded in 2008, is currently tied to a cluster of Roc Nation lawsuits that break into three groups: the legal war between Jay-Z and Houston attorney Tony Buzbee over sexual assault claims connected to Sean “Diddy” Combs; employment suits brought by former staff of Roc Nation artists Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Uzi Vert; and family litigation surrounding CEO Desiree Perez, including a new insurance-coverage fight. Some cases have been dismissed. Others are moving toward trial.

The Buzbee Client-Solicitation Suit Against Roc Nation

On December 18, 2024, Tony Buzbee and the Buzbee Law Firm sued Roc Nation, Mississippi attorney Marcy Croft, and the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in Harris County, Texas, alleging violations of Texas barratry laws and impersonation of public officials.¹

The complaint alleges Roc Nation hired investigators who posed as Texas state officials, flashed fake badges, and approached more than two dozen current and former Buzbee clients to recruit them into lawsuits against the firm.² Court records cited former client Skylar Taylor, allegedly offered $1,000 to join a class action against the firm in an interaction reportedly captured on a secret recording, and another former client, Gerardo Garcia, approached at home by two investigators claiming to be from “the state.”³ Buzbee alleges Croft, who identifies herself as a member of “Team Roc,” orchestrated the recruitment and was captured on audiotape describing how the resulting lawsuits would generate press coverage.⁴

Croft called the allegations “fantastical,” and a Roc Nation spokesperson dismissed the case as “nothing but another sham” and a “pathetic attempt to distract and deflect attention.”⁴ The case was removed to federal court in January 2025.⁵ On September 18, 2025, Judge George C. Hanks Jr. granted a motion to remand, sending it back to the 11th Judicial District Court of Harris County under case number 2024-84902.⁶

The Jane Doe Sexual Assault Case That Started It

The Buzbee-Roc Nation fight grew out of a civil suit filed in October 2024 by an anonymous plaintiff, “Jane Doe,” against Combs under the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.⁷ In December 2024 the complaint was amended to add Jay-Z. The accuser, a 38-year-old Alabama resident, alleged that in September 2000, when she was 13, she was lured by a limousine driver outside the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall, taken to an afterparty, and sexually assaulted by both Combs and Jay-Z.⁸

Jay-Z called the allegations “frivolous, fictitious and appalling.” In a December 13, 2024, NBC News interview, the accuser acknowledged that “not all the facts are clear” and said she “may have made a mistake in identifying” one of her alleged attackers. On February 14, 2025, her legal team voluntarily dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled, and U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres approved the dismissal. Jay-Z’s attorney Alex Spiro said Jay-Z “never settled” and “never paid 1 red penny.”⁹

Jay-Z’s Counter-Suits Against Buzbee

Los Angeles Extortion Case: Dismissed

Before the Jane Doe complaint publicly named him, Jay-Z filed a preemptive suit against Buzbee in Los Angeles Superior Court on November 18, 2024, alleging extortion, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He said Buzbee had sent demand letters threatening a public lawsuit unless he agreed to mediation and a settlement.¹⁰

On June 30, 2025, Judge Mark Epstein dismissed the case in a 65-page ruling granting Buzbee’s anti-SLAPP motion. The court found the demand letters did not constitute extortion because they threatened only civil litigation, and that Jay-Z had not shown the “actual malice” required for a defamation claim against a public figure.¹¹ Jay-Z’s team filed a notice of appeal on July 1, 2025.¹²

Alabama Defamation Case: Ongoing

In March 2025, Jay-Z opened a second front with a defamation and malicious prosecution lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (Case No. 1:25-cv-00086) against Buzbee, co-counsel David Fortney, and the Jane Doe. The complaint alleged an extortion conspiracy built on fabricated sexual assault claims, and that Jane Doe had privately admitted the allegations were false and that Buzbee had “pushed” her to include Jay-Z to “get them more money.”¹³

An amended complaint filed May 6, 2025, added attorney Antigone Curis as a defendant, alleged Buzbee had used her electronic filing credentials to submit cases in the Southern District of New York without being authorized to practice there,¹⁴ and alleged employees of the Buzbee firm had edited Wikipedia pages about Jay-Z and Roc Nation to damage their reputations.¹⁵

The amended complaint put a dollar figure on the alleged harm. Jay-Z claimed the false allegations caused the denial of a $115 million loan for Roc Nation, the denial of a $55 million personal credit line, and the loss of contracts worth at least $20 million, totaling roughly $190 million.¹⁶ He argued he and Roc Nation are “inextricably tied,” noting his 50 percent ownership stake.¹⁷ As of early 2026, the Alabama case remains active.¹⁸

Buzbee’s SDNY Credentials Problem

The credentials allegation became its own subplot. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil stated in a ruling that Buzbee “improperly filed and litigated” cases in the SDNY using Curis’s electronic filing credentials, filing “numerous actions” and “scores of submissions” without applying for admission, and noted that Curis’s “apparent complicity in his improper conduct may be grounds for sanctions.” On February 13, 2025, the SDNY Committee on Grievances denied Buzbee’s petition for admission, finding he had “appeared in cases in this Court without seeking admission.” Buzbee, who denied having access to Curis’s credentials, then withdrew as counsel in more than a dozen federal lawsuits against Combs; his firm said it continues to represent those plaintiffs with Curis handling court appearances.¹⁹

Emilio Garcia v. Megan Thee Stallion and Roc Nation

Separately, Roc Nation faces an employment lawsuit from Emilio Garcia, a former personal cameraman for Megan Thee Stallion (Megan Pete). Filed in California Superior Court in April 2024 and later transferred to the Southern District of New York before Judge Gregory H. Woods (Case No. 1:24-cv-7587), the case alleges discrimination based on sexual orientation, retaliation, and a hostile work environment.²⁰

Garcia claims he was forced to witness sexual acts during work trips, including an incident in Ibiza, Spain, in 2022, that Roc Nation retaliated by altering his compensation to reduce his earnings, and that he was fired in June 2023. Megan Thee Stallion’s team characterized the case as “an employment claim for money” with “salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her.”²¹

In July 2025, Judge Woods partially denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, ruling that Garcia “plausibly” pleaded a hostile work environment based on sexual orientation. Retaliation claims under California and New York law and meal and rest break claims may proceed; the California hostile work environment claim and certain overtime claims were dismissed. The court ordered a three-hour deposition of Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez and set an October 2025 deadline for summary judgment motions.²⁰

Lil Uzi Vert Assistant Lawsuit: Filed and Withdrawn

In October 2025, a former personal assistant filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Lil Uzi Vert (Symere Bysil Woods), his company Uzivert LLC, and Roc Nation. The plaintiff, identified as “Jane Doe,” alleged sexual harassment, including explicit text messages and verbal advances, unpaid overtime for shifts lasting up to 39 hours, and unreimbursed work expenses.²² She also alleged she was required to work for Lil Uzi Vert’s girlfriend, rapper JT, without additional compensation, and that Roc Nation executives, including CEO Desiree Perez, ignored her complaints.²³

Seventeen days after filing, the plaintiff’s attorney requested dismissal without prejudice on November 6, 2025, leaving open the possibility of refiling.²²

Desiree Perez Family Litigation

Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, who has led the company since December 2019, is engaged in litigation with her own daughter, Demoree Hadley. The case, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Case No. 1:25-cv-22162), centers on Hadley’s allegation that Perez used her “money, power and influence” to have Hadley falsely detained under Florida’s Baker Act, a mental health emergency statute, and the Marchman Act, which covers substance abuse treatment.²⁴

Hadley says Dr. Daniel Bober, chief of psychiatry at Memorial Regional Hospital, signed paperwork stating she was a risk to herself based on family reports, though drug screenings on admission were negative and her own doctor wrote a letter disputing the need for hospitalization. After the initial Baker Act detention, Perez petitioned to move Hadley to a second facility under the Marchman Act, claiming severe drug abuse. Hadley was held until Perez voluntarily dismissed the case in April.²⁴ Hadley also alleges her mother illegally surveilled her, including bugging her room and hacking her iCloud account, and fabricated domestic violence claims against Hadley’s husband, Javon Hadley.²⁵

Perez denies the allegations and filed her own lawsuit against Javon Hadley in April 2025, claiming he trapped her daughter in a “dangerously abusive relationship.” A judge has allowed portions of both sides’ claims to proceed toward potential trials. In mid-2025, the Hadleys agreed to pay $2,500 to the trust account of Holland & Knight LLP to resolve fee disputes related to social media motions.²⁶

Insurance Coverage Dispute

On April 3, 2026, New York Marine and General Insurance Company filed a declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Case No. 1:26-cv-22329), asking the court to rule it has no obligation to defend or indemnify Perez in the dispute with her daughter. The insurer argues the litigation arises from a “contentious mother-daughter relationship” rather than Perez’s duties as Roc Nation’s CEO, so she is not an “insured” under the policy.²⁵ As of June 2026, Perez’s response is due, and the case is assigned to Judge Roy K. Altman.²⁷

The Combs Criminal Case Sits Outside These Suits

Many of the Roc Nation lawsuits share a backdrop with the federal criminal prosecution of Combs, but the criminal case is not itself a Roc Nation matter. In July 2025, Combs was found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking and was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in violation of the Mann Act, carrying a potential combined sentence of up to 20 years. Neither Jay-Z nor Roc Nation played any reported role in the criminal trial proceedings.²⁸

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