LOS ANGELES (Court TV) — The woman who lost her lawsuit against rapper Cardi B is asking a judge to give her another chance, as her attorney faces fallout from his behavior during the trial.
Rapper Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, takes the stand for the second day saying her and Emani Ellis were ‘chest-to-chest,’ but that there was no physical incident between the two. (Court TV)
Cardi B, née Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, successfully defended herself against a lawsuit brought against her by security guard Emani Ellis, who accused the “WAP” rapper of assault and battery following an incident at a Beverly Hills doctor’s office. Both Ellis and Cardi B testified, but after four days of trial, the jury sided with Cardi B and denied Ellis’ claims.
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In her motion for a new trial, Ellis focuses less on what happened inside the courtroom and more on what happened in the hallways and courtroom steps. In an incident caught on camera, Cardi B threw a pen on the courtroom steps. In the motion for a new trial, Ellis’ attorney, Ron A. Rosen Janfanza, suggested the behavior should merit a new trial.
“The incident happened while she was on a lunch break during the Trial. The incident caused another individual to get pushed and injured. It was also completely unlawful and disrespectful for the Defendant to injure others during the trial on the Alhambra Courthouse property, which she did on September 2, 2025. Additional time is needed to determine if Defendant’s actions of throwing a pen at a man outside the Alhambra Courthouse were witnessed by the jury.”
In a response calling the motion for a new trial “entirely frivolous,” Cardi B’s attorney, Peter Anderson, questioned why any juror would have been standing outside the courthouse with a gaggle of press.
Plaintiff Emani Ellis testifies in the civil assault trial against Cardi B. (8/25/25)
The tension in the case extends beyond Cardi B and Ellis, as their attorneys have now filed dueling requests for sanctions, each accusing the other of unethical behavior during the trial. Janfanza, in the motion for a new trial, accuses Anderson of threatening him to “obtain an advantage” and also of assaulting him in a hallway of the courthouse during the trial.
MORE | Biggest moments from Cardi B’s assault trial
Anderson dismissed the claims in Cardi B’s response, noting that Sheriff’s deputies were present at all times in the hallways and never reported any assault, shouting or other incident.
Meanwhile, Anderson filed a motion for an order to show cause, compelling Janfanza to provide proof as to why he should not be held in contempt or sanctioned for his behavior during the trial. The issues Anderson focused on in his motion included Janfanza asking questions that were previously deemed to be outside the scope of acceptable evidence and violating other court orders during the trial.
Janfanza penned an exhaustive response to the motion, pleading with the judge to “give Plaintiff’s counsel the benefit of the doubt.” He explained that he wasn’t a “seasoned” trial attorney, like Anderson, and any mistakes were purely accidental.
“Plaintiff’s counsel’s law license is the most important thing to him, which he would never sacrifice for any reason.”
Janfanza explained that he had only ever gone to trial in 10 cases before this. “Plaintiff’s counsel took this case on from another firm for the sole reason of giving the Plaintiff an opportunity to be heard,” Janfanza wrote. “Plaintiff’s counsel has already lost thousands of dollars in that pursuit, even though he is struggling financially….Plaintiff’s counsel’s future career path is to be a judge in an effort to help people by administering justice.” Janfanza also notes he plans to take a trial advocacy class “to better understand how to proceed to trial.”
A hearing is scheduled on the order to show cause and the motion for a new trial on Dec. 5, 2025.
