Diddy's Lawyers Seek to Withdraw, Citing Non-Payment and Lack of Cooperation
Law firm Sher Tremonte LLP requests to be relieved as counsel for the incarcerated rapper in a defamation case, alleging six months of unpaid fees and communication breakdowns.
Lawyers for Sean 'Diddy' Combs are seeking to withdraw from his defamation case, citing the rapper's alleged failure to pay legal fees for six months and a breakdown in cooperation. The law firm Sher Tremonte LLP filed a motion requesting to be relieved as counsel in Combs's lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell, and NewsNation's parent company Nexstar Media Inc.
In court documents, attorney Michael Tremonte, a partner at Sher Tremonte LLP, stated that Combs is in "substantial arrears in paying" for their services and that his "lack of cooperation" has made representation "unreasonably difficult."
Tremonte further alleged a "total breakdown in cooperation and communication" with Combs, noting that the rapper has declined to make himself available for "timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months."
Combs, through a representative, stated that the decision to switch lawyers was due to being "overcharged" and accused the firm of "running up bills that were never approved." A representative for Combs called the claims of unpaid fees "just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges."
However, Tremonte denied these assertions, stating in a letter to The Daily Mail, "Any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false."
The legal dispute unfolds while Combs is incarcerated, serving a sentence following his conviction on two prostitution charges last year. He was found guilty in his 2025 federal trial of two counts of transporting prostitutes across state lines for the purpose of sex. He was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges. The rapper was sentenced to four years and two months in prison, with his sentence beginning in October 2025.
