Jury selection began Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court for a $2 million lawsuit filed against Bad Boy Records executive Sean "Puffy" Combs, according to the "New York Post."
The rap impresario is being sued by Nicole Levy, a woman who was present during a 1991 stampede at a City College of New York gymnasium.
The CCNY stampede, which left nine people dead and 29 people injured, occurred during a rap concert and charity basketball game party that Combs and his co-producer Dwight "Heavy D" Myers promoted. The tragic event continued to return to haunt Combs throughout the 1990s (see "Puff Daddy May Soon Reach Settlement With CCNY Victims' Families").
According to the "Post," Levy, who was 17 years old at the time, was not among those injured at the event.
In her suit, Levy claims that the stampede, which resulted in the death of one friend, has left her with post-traumatic stress disorder and a condition called Graves' disease.
Levy's lawyers were reportedly willing to settle the case for $1 million, but Puffy, who has already paid $750,000 to settle claims by relatives of the deceased, refused.
In a statement given to the "Page Six" section of the "Post" on Monday, Puffy said, "The event was tragic, and every day my heart goes out to the victims and their families. However, Nicole Levy is not one of the victims. Her case is phony and there is no evidence whatsoever to support her claims. I find it appalling that she is trying to profit from this terrible situation."
Levy's lawyer, meanwhile, told the "Post" he will have a number of doctors take the stand in Manhattan Supreme Court, including doctors who treated Levy for bruises after the tragedy, psychiatrists who are currently treating her for post-traumatic stress syndrome, and two endocrinologists treating her Graves' disease.
