A prominent figure is suing the lawyer repping more than 120 of Diddy's alleged victims, saying the attorney is "shamelessly attempting to extort exorbitant sums from him," while threatening a lawsuit packed with "wildly false horrific allegations" if he doesn't pay up.
The plaintiff, identified only as "John Doe," filed his own lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court Monday morning ... describing himself as a "high profile individual" who knew Diddy and attended events along with the mogul. He's being repped by one of the premier law firms in the country -- Quinn Emanuel.
The man says attorney Tony Buzbee and his firm threatened to unleash "entirely fabricated and malicious allegations of sexual assault -- including multiple incidents of rape of a minor, both male and female -- against Plaintiff if he refuses to comply with their demands." The suit goes on to say Buzbee's demand letters alleged the plaintiff raped the males and females while they were under the influence of drugs ... at parties hosted by Diddy.
The plaintiff references past lawsuits Buzbee has filed against other celebrities, including football star Deshaun Watson. The man claims Buzbee tried to "shake down" Watson and others by making "dubious claims he knows would not stand up in court."
The lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, goes on to claim Buzbee did the same thing against Green Bay Packers kicker Brandon McManus ... allegedly threatening to sue over specious allegations of sexual assault. The suit claims the NFL investigated and found insufficient evidence and closed the case. The new lawsuit filed by John Doe references our documentary.
Buzbee appeared on TMZ's new Tubi documentary, "The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak-Offs" ... in which Harvey asks him about the criticism that Buzbee's M.O. is to put enough embarrassing information in a demand letter that it forces a settlement. Buzbee acknowledged that is indeed the game, saying it's the way the system works.
The lawsuit claims Buzbee put a "ticking clock" on the extortion demands, threatening to sue if the plaintiff didn't agree to mediation to "resolve this delicate and important matter."
The plaintiff is suing for extortion and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Quinn Emanuel urges anyone with information on Mr. Buzbee to contact the company via openline@quinnemanuel.com.
We've reached out to Buzbee ... so far no word back.