Diddy Says Man's Face Made Contact With His Hand
(February 18th)

Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a declaration in his upcoming assault case stating that the man suing him in civil court actually ran into his open hand during an incident outside of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

In recent depositions, four witnesses testified under oath that Diddy punched Gerald Rechnitzer around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 26, 2007 after he confronted the mogul for flirting with his fiancée, Sofia Sokolov. But according to TMZ.com, Diddy filed court papers claiming his hand was open and outstretched as Gerald "lunged" into it with his face.

Diddy said that Rechnitzer "continued moving toward me and, without warning, lunged at me. Instinctively, I outstretched one of my hands, which the hand was not closed-fisted, to shield myself ... any contact between Mr. Rechnitzer and myself was caused by his forward motion against my stationary open hand."

Following the incident, Rechnitzer filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Police Department. But after a brief investigation, no charges were filed. The civil suit against Diddy is scheduled to begin on May 27.