Through countless controversies and run-ins with the law over the years, including the 1997 shooting death of his friend and protégé Notorious B.I.G., Sean "Diddy" Combs has managed to avoid harsh punishment.

But Combs was put on the defensive this week when a newspaper article alleged his involvement in a 1994 assault on Tupac Shakur that many believe sparked the East Coast-West Coast beef that saw both Shakur and B.I.G. shot and killed. And in a double blow, a $130 million civil lawsuit against Diddy and the jailed rapper Shyne is expected to get a hearing in the coming weeks.

An article from the The Los Angeles Times penned by staff writer Chuck Philips, a longtime chronicler of the two rappers' unsolved murders, linked two former associates of Diddy to the 1994 assault at the Quad Recording Studios in New York City, and suggested Combs knew of the attack in advance.

The report, which was only published on the paper's Web site, cited an unnamed source who said he was questioned during a federal probe of the shooting and beating of Shakur. The paper suggested that Combs and B.I.G. knew Shakur was being set up and that Combs' associates, talent manager James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond and promoter James Sabatino, planned the attack.

It said that Rosemond and Sabatino helped plan the attack "to punish Shakur for disrespecting them and rejecting their business overtures and, not incidentally, to curry favor with Combs."

"This story is a lie," Combs said in a statement. "It is beyond ridiculous and is completely false. Neither Biggie (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace) nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during, or after it happened."

Though the assault is not directly linked to the 1996 drive-by shooting of Shakur in 1996 in Las Vegas or the shooting of B.I.G. in Los Angeles six months later, it is believed to have sparked a tense feud between the two rappers.

Rosemond, jailed for three years after a 1996 conviction on drugs and weapons charges, has for years denied any involvement in the 1994 attack on Shakur, and he declined comment for the Times story.

"I am baffled as to why the LA Times would print this on its Web site when a simple and fair investigation would reveal that the allegations are false," Rosemond said in a statement issued Monday.

As the Times story sent aftershocks throughout the hip-hop world, a civil lawsuit brought against Diddy and Shyne is expected to get a trial date very soon. The suit was brought by Natania Reuben, who was shot in the face during a December 1999 incident at a Manhattan nightclub.

The shooting, which came during the height of Diddy's highly publicized relationship with Jennifer Lopez, resulted in Shyne's conviction for assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession, and a sentence of 10 years in prison after he fired a weapon in Club New York on the evening of December 27, 1999. Diddy, whose honor the rapper was supposedly defending, was acquitted of all charges in the case.

The case needs just one more deposition before the trial can begin, MTV News reported. Before the case goes to trial, a judge will have to decide whether or not Shyne acted alone or as part of Diddy's Bad Boy collective when he fired his weapon.

If both Diddy and Shyne are required to stand trial, it will be up to a jury to decide who should bear responsibility for the shooting. Shyne, who did not testify during the criminal trial, may be required to take the stand and testify about the incident. The rapper is currently incarcerated at the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York State, and is expected to be released as early as next year.