Tony Buzbee
HOUSTON - A federal court has denied a motion to dismiss a $25 million defamation lawsuit against attorney Tony Buzbee, who is accused of coordinating an effort to publicly discredit and intimidate “a well-respected member of the Missouri bar.”
Marcy Croft, who represented Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s company Roc Nation, filed suit against Buzbee and his firm, along with Jose Maldonado, late last year, alleging the attorney falsely accused her of committing multiple felonies in an attempt to “discredit, intimidate, and silence her.”
The litigation between the two attorneys stems from a lawsuit Buzbee brought accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual assault.
In her suit, Croft says the accusations arose after she “briefly and voluntarily” evaluated a former Buzbee client’s (Maldonado) concerns regarding the firm’s handling of funds. She asserts Buzbee initiated the scheme using Maldonado to engage her.
“Soon after, Ms. Croft learned that Maldonado had partnered with Buzbee and his law firm at or around the same time Ms. Croft had been providing legal advice to Maldonado,” the suit states. “Buzbee, the very lawyer whom Maldonado had initially sought Ms. Croft’s advice to sue, was now actually Maldonado’s ally, and was part of a coordinated attempt to entrap and defame Ms. Croft.”
Court records show Buzbee moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the court must dismiss Croft’s claims for false light and negligence infliction of emotional distress (NIED) because Texas law does not recognize those torts.
In turn, Croft argued that the claims are permissible because Mississippi law applies to those claims, and Mississippi recognizes the torts. Croft is correct.
On Sept. 30, the court denied the motion finding that “Croft is correct.”
“Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Croft, the court may reasonably infer that Buzbee and the Firm made defamatory statements,” the order states. “Buzbee, speaking on behalf of himself and the Firm, published several social-media posts accusing Croft of habitual illegal activity. Croft insists these statements were lies. But Buzbee and the Firm ‘knowingly and willfully’ published the statements anyway. And Croft’s reputation suffered as a result.
“These facts alone establish both defamation and defamation per se, and Croft has satisfied her burden under (federal law).”
The court also found that, although it was “a close call,” there are several independent allegations that support Croft’s IIED claim.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown is presiding over the case.
Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, case number 3:25-cv-00422
