Cardi B has denied a request for a new trial related to a 2018 incident after a judge ruled that her pen-throwing behavior would not have affected the jury’s decision.
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Cardi B added another legal victory to her record on Friday when a Los Angeles County judge denied a security guard’s request for a new trial stemming from a 2018 confrontation outside a Beverly Hills medical office.
Judge Ian Fusserman rejected Emani Ellis’ claim that jurors were influenced by Cardi’s behavior outside the courtroom, including a clip captured on video in which Cardi threw a pen to the ground after being questioned by YouTuber Donat Ricketts about NFL wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ pregnancy rumors.
“We’re speculating on how this affects them,” Fusselman said at the hearing, according to Rolling Stone. “Wouldn’t this help your case, rather than hurt it?”
Ellis also argued that two of Cardi’s defense witnesses should be disqualified due to late disclosures, but the judge rejected that argument as well, upholding the jury’s September decision in favor of the Grammy-winning artist.
The original lawsuit centered on a February 2018 incident in which Ellis claimed that Cardi B (née Belcalis Almánzar) cut her face with acrylic nails during a heated exchange. At the time, Cady believed Ellis was secretly recording her outside an ob-gyn’s office while she was pregnant with her first child with Offset.
During the two-day trial, Cady testified that there was no physical contact between the two men. “She didn’t hit me. I didn’t hit her. There was no contact,” she told the jury, describing the interaction as limited to words.
The jury took just an hour to deliberate before finding in Cady’s favor in September. The court victory adds to a string of legal victories for the Bronx rapper. In 2022, she obtained a $4 million defamation judgment against YouTuber Tasha K, who later agreed to pay back $1.2 million as part of the settlement.
Cardi also won a California federal case involving the unauthorized use of a man’s back tattoo on her mixtape artwork and had a defamation lawsuit dismissed in a New York court.
Judge Fusselman also said Ellis’ attorney, Ron Rosen Gianfaza, could face sanctions for repeatedly mentioning a psychologist who was barred from testifying during the trial. Cardi’s legal success comes amid a busy year that includes the September release of her second album Am I Drama? ” In November, she gave birth to her fourth child with Diggs.
The album’s “court version” CD cover was inspired by her legal battles.
