Cardi B just secured another courtroom win against the security guard who accused her of scratching her face outside a Beverly Hills doctor’s office back in 2018 — and this time, she didn’t have to lift a finger.
Per court documents obtained, Los Angeles County Judge Ian Fusselman denied plaintiff Emani Ellis’ request for a new trial on Dec. 5, ruling there was no valid reason to overturn the previous unanimous verdict.
Ellis argued that jurors were intimidated after Cardi tossed a pen to the ground when a YouTuber questioned her about her pregnancy outside the courthouse. In the clip, Cardi can be heard telling vlogger Donat Ricketts to “stop disrespecting me.” She was secretly pregnant at the time — the world wouldn’t find out until Sept. 17.
During Friday’s hearing, Judge Fusselman read a sworn statement from Ricketts claiming the pen bounced and hit him. He also told a juror afterward that he had no intention of suing Cardi. Cardi’s team pushed back in filings, saying the pen never touched anyone and calling claims of jury intimidation pure hearsay. The judge agreed.
“We’re speculating about how it impacted them,” he said. “Wouldn’t that tend to help your case, rather than hurt it? Isn’t that why you wanted the jury to find out about it? You came into court and said, ‘I want the jury to know this just happened.’”
Fusselman added that the jury’s decision was clearly based on the evidence they closely followed throughout the trial.
“They were free to ask any questions or make any comments, and they didn’t,” he said. “I don’t find that anything outside the courtroom had any impact on the jury’s deliberations.”
Back on Sept. 2, it took the jury just an hour to unanimously decide Cardi did not assault Ellis. After the verdict, Cardi doubled down on her stance.
“I swear to God I will say it in my deathbed: I did not touch that woman. I did not touch that girl, I didn’t lay my hands on that girl,” Cardi said. “With that being said, this time around, I’m gonna be nice. The next person to try to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I’m going to countersue, and I’m gonna make you pay because this is not OK.”
