C.J. Wallace, the son of the late Notorious B.I.G., has scored a significant legal victory in his defamation case against producer Jonathan Hay. On October 1, 2026, a federal judge denied Hay's request to pause the proceedings, allowing the court to move forward with determining potential damages and legal fees stemming from Hay's allegations involving Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Judge Mary Scriven dismissed Hay's argument that the case should be delayed while Los Angeles prosecutors review his sexual assault claims against Combs, ruling that there was no valid reason to stay the proceedings. She further rejected Hay's alternative request to exclude evidence regarding the alleged assaults from Wallace's upcoming damages hearing. The judge emphasized that Hay, as the complaining witness in the criminal investigation, does not have grounds to stall a civil case simply because a related criminal review is ongoing. Hay had previously filed a lawsuit in California over the same allegations, a move the court found further weakened his position.
With the ruling, the focus shifts to the damages hearing, where Wallace is expected to present evidence supporting his claims for compensation. Although Hay has not yet been ordered to pay a specific amount, the court's decision leaves him in a precarious position as he weighs the legal consequences of his earlier public statements.
The conflict between Hay and Wallace emerged from a project titled "Ready to Dance," which features remixes of songs by Wallace's late father, Christopher Wallace, known to the world as the Notorious B.I.G. Hay has alleged that Combs assaulted him during the course of the project and that Wallace played a role in facilitating the encounter. Both Wallace and Combs have vehemently denied those accusations.
The ruling fits into a broader pattern of courts pushing back on attempts to use pending criminal reviews as shields in civil defamation litigation. For Wallace, who has spent years managing his father's musical legacy, the case is about drawing a line around false statements that he says damaged his reputation and business interests.
The decision also intersects with Combs' own sprawling legal troubles. In a separate ruling this month, a New York judge ordered Combs to pay $477,700.50 in attorneys' fees to NBCUniversal and its co-defendants after his $100 million defamation suit over the documentary "Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy" was dismissed. For Hay, the path forward now runs through a damages hearing he tried - and failed - to avoid.