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Puffy Combs, Heavy D Ruled Negligent In Fatal 1991 Stampede
A New York Court of Claims judge on Monday found rappers Sean "Puffy" Combs and Dwight "Heavy D" Myers and the City University of New York negligent in overbooking a 1991 celebrity basketball game that erupted into a stampede that killed nine people, leaving dozens more injured, according to published reports.
Judge Louis Benza's ruling has no legal effect on Combs or Meyers, as the Court of Claims legally determines only state liabilities. But the judge nevertheless ruled that Combs and Myers shared fifty percent of the responsibility for the tragedy, which the court determined was caused in large part by a decision by the University to let Combs' security team handle crowd control at the event.
Court records indicate that around 2,500 fans showed up at the 500-capacity university gym to attend a celebrity basketball game / rap concert, mostly to hear Heavy D, as Combs was just beginning to develop his rap career at that point. Combs' security team blocked the only entrance to the gym where the event took place with a table to ensure that everyone who got past had paid.
''Their pounding and their cries for help did not dissuade Combs' people from closing the door, precipitating the eventual deaths and injuries that occurred,'' Benza wrote in his ruling.
Combs testified that he was also caught in the crush and fought to help people that were hurt. A police officer at the scene testified that during the crush, he witnessed Combs safely inside the venue with two women, and that all three had money in their hands.
In one civil case brought against Combs since the incident, Nicole Levy has sued Combs, who personally invited her to the event. Levy witnessed her friend Sonia Williams die of suffocation in the crush, and according to her lawyer has developed Grave's Disease, a thyroid condition brought on by severe stress. Levy's lawyer is asking $500,000 in damages. Combs' lawyers have offered to settle the case for $50,000.
