Kirk Burrowes's lawsuit over a 25 percent stake in Bad Boy Entertainment is still alive, but the ruling that kept it there decided far less than it might appear. Burrowes sued Janice Combs, the mother of Diddy, alone, on the claim that she received and held on to the share he says was taken from him.
Judge Jennifer H. Rearden denied Combs's first motion to dismiss as moot in an order dated 15 September, obtained by AllHipHop. The reason is procedural: Burrowes replaced his original complaint in November 2025, so the motion was aimed at a document that no longer governs the case. Her renewed dismissal bid, filed on 31 August, remains pending.
Nothing in that order says whether Burrowes proved fraud or is owed anything. The substantive fight is still ahead of both sides, and briefing on the second motion was expected to continue through September.
The claim itself goes back to the label's beginnings. Burrowes says he helped launch Bad Boy in 1993 and became its president, holding 25 percent of the stock and 15 percent of profits. His amended complaint says Combs knowingly benefited from a 1996 transfer of that interest and concealed her role until he found out in 2024.
His account of the 1996 meeting is the part that has drawn attention. He has said Diddy arrived at his office unexpectedly with the attorney Kenneth Meiselas, one carrying a briefcase of stock certificates and the other a baseball bat, and that he signed over 25 shares without payment.
Burrowes has been careful about how he characterises that. "I didn't feel I was gonna get beat down in that office, in all honesty," he told The Art of Dialogue, saying what actually hurt was being asked to give back the one thing he had been told was his.
Combs, whose legal name is Janice Smalls, denies owning Bad Boy stock or directing the encounter, and her lawyers argue the allegations arrive decades too late. Earlier attempts to litigate the same stake ended on filing deadlines and pleading standards rather than on any finding about what happened in that office.
Burrowes is seeking the 25 percent stake restored, unpaid profits, at least $100,000 and a full audit of Bad Boy's finances. He filed a separate case against Diddy two days after this one, raising broader claims of abuse, coercion and career sabotage. More of our court coverage sits on the legal hub and our hip-hop hub, including Diddy's prison release date being moved up again.
The facts
- Judge Jennifer H. Rearden denied Janice Combs's first dismissal motion as moot.
- The motion targeted a complaint Burrowes replaced in November 2025.
- The 15 September order decides nothing about fraud or ownership.
- Combs filed a second dismissal motion on 31 August that is still pending.
- Burrowes says he helped launch Bad Boy in 1993 and became president.
- He claims he held 25 percent of the stock and 15 percent of profits.
- He seeks the stake restored, unpaid profits, at least $100,000 and an audit.
- Combs denies owning Bad Boy stock or directing the 1996 encounter.
How this checks out
Single source
Reported by a single outlet
Only one outlet has reported it so far, so it stays a single source.
Cited sources 1
Every outlet that reported this, linked to what it published. Equal credits, in alphabetical order.