Sean “Diddy” Combs won a small portion of his uphill legal battle on Monday when a federal judge dismissed the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Act (Rico) portion and four other causes of action brought in the legal filing from Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, the producer whose accusations preceded a flood of legal complaints against the rap mogul and his company.

On Monday, Judge J. Paul Oetken of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York weighed in on Combs’ defense team’s motion to dismiss Jones v. Combs et al., in a 31-page opinion, granting the motion in part but denying other portions related to sexual assault and trafficking. The slimmed-down civil case will still move forward, but with the racketeering accusation struck from the case, along with the breach of contract claim and three causes of action related to infliction of emotional distress. Judge Oetken...