Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones struggled to serve Cuba Gooding Jr. with legal papers after naming the actor as a defendant in a $30 million lawsuit against Diddy. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, Jones asked for a 60-day extension to serve Gooding after several failed attempts.
Tyrone Blackburn, the attorney representing Jones, claimed Gooding dodged service of process in multiple cases. Jones tried to serve Gooding at properties in California and New York to no avail. Jones never attempted to serve in Gooding in Florida because the actor allegedly lived out of hotels there.
Blackburn believed Gooding still resides In New York City. The lawyer also discovered tax liens on a Los Angeles property owned by Gooding. Blackburn told a New York judge he would attempt to serve Gooding at both locations again.
“The plaintiff has attempted to serve Mr. Gooding Jr. at [the New York City] location several times and he has refused to answer the door,” the attorney wrote. “The plaintiff discovered this is Mr. Gooding Jr.’s address from conducting a skip trace search, which was also confirmed through court filings … Additionally, this was his address of record for his recent criminal cases where he [pleaded] guilty for sexual assault.”
Jones accused Gooding of sexual assault in an amended version of the producer’s lawsuit against Diddy. Jones said the incident occurred on a yacht in 2023.
“According to Mr. Jones, during the introduction, [Diddy] suggested that Cuba ‘get to know’ Mr. Jones better,” the lawsuit noted. “He then left them alone in a makeshift studio on the yacht. As evidenced by a video, of which screenshots are embedded below, Cuba Gooding Jr. began touching, groping and fondling Mr. Jones’ legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks and his shoulders … [Jones] was extremely uncomfortable and proceeded to lean away from Mr. Gooding Jr. He rejected his advances and Mr. Gooding Jr. did not stop until Mr. Jones forcibly pushed him away.”
Gooding told the PBD Podcast he was shocked to see his name included in the Diddy lawsuit. Gooding thought he was only dragged into the case based on his past legal issues and described Diddy as an acquaintance.