Tory Lanez is seeking $100 million after being stabbed in prison, but California officials claim he knowingly accepted the risks of his housing assignment.
T. Valdez, the acting warden at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, is one of the defendants in the lawsuit. In an October 7 court filing, Valdez argues that Tory, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, agreed to his housing placement.
The California attorney general’s office filed the response on Valdez’s behalf. One of the defenses raises a key argument about Tory’s responsibility for his own safety.
“[Tory Lanez] consented to his prison housing classification and assignment and assumed any risk alleged to be associated with that housing.”
In other words, Valdez argues that Tory knew about the possible danger and accepted it when he agreed to his placement. However, the filing does not explain what Tory agreed to or when he supposedly gave his consent.
It also does not say whether he was placed in general population or protective custody.
Tory’s lawsuit paints a much different picture of the May 2025 stabbing, which he describes as an “unprovoked life-threatening attack” by fellow inmate Santino Casio.
“The choice to house Casio with Peterson was known or should have been a known danger,” the lawsuit states.
Valdez confirms that the stabbing happened but disputes responsibility for Tory’s injuries.
“During an altercation, [Tory Lanez] was stabbed by inmate Casio with an inmate-manufactured weapon while both were housed at CCI,” the filing states.
The warden also concedes that Casio had a history of breaking prison rules and that correctional officers have a general duty to protect inmates.
The attack happened around 7:20 A.M. on May 12, 2025, inside a prison housing unit, according to FOX 11’s coverage.
Tory’s team initially said he suffered 14 stab wounds, including seven to his back, and that both lungs collapsed. His lawsuit later claimed he suffered 16 stab wounds and was airlifted to a hospital.
Tory’s father, Sonstar Peterson, defended his son during a May 21 appearance on NewsNation’s CUOMO.
He said Tory “never provoked this incident in prison” and expressed concern about rumors surrounding the attack.
“One thing, of course, we are concerned about is because my son is a high-profile person and when things like this happen there’s always some kind of weird news going out to spin it to be something else, you know, ‘maybe he went crazy in the prison and they moved him.'”
Casio later told TMZ he acted in self-defense after hearing rumors that someone had placed a bounty on his head and noticing a suspicious bulge in Tory’s pocket.
Tory’s lawyers rejected that account.
“Any claim to the contrary particularly from an individual serving a life sentence for heinous crimes is not only baseless but an absurd fabrication.”
Valdez’s filing also raises questions about who should be held responsible for Tory’s injuries.
“The intentional or criminal act of a third party or parties was a superseding, intervening cause of [Tory Lanez’s] injuries,” the filing states.
That defense argues Casio’s actions, rather than any failure by prison officials, were the cause of Tory’s injuries.
Another defense goes further and claims Tory shares responsibility for what happened.
The filing argues Tory “caused and contributed to the claimed injuries and damages through his own acts, omissions, and legal fault.”
Valdez also claims qualified immunity, a legal protection that can shield government officials from personal liability under certain circumstances.
“Defendant is entitled to qualified immunity because his conduct was objectively reasonable and did not violate any clearly established constitutional or statutory rights of [Tory Lanez].”
In July, California’s corrections department raised another defense under the Eleventh Amendment, arguing that the state cannot be sued for damages in federal court under the claims presented.
Tory was transferred to California Men’s Colony after the stabbing. He remains incarcerated while serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
Valdez is also asking the federal court to award him defense costs and attorney’s fees if he wins the lawsuit.
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