Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs are dropping the rapper and music executive as a client in his $100 million defamation lawsuit, citing months of unpaid fees and a breakdown in communication.
Michael Tremonte, a partner at Sher Tremonte LLP, said Combs, 56, “has not paid a substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses,” according to a declaration asking to withdraw as counsel filed Monday in the Southern District of New York.
Tremonte said in the filing that Combs is more than six months behind on fees and that there has been “a total breakdown in cooperation and communication between Mr. Combs and the Firm.”
The Filing
Combs has “declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months,” the filing says.
“The Firm’s representation has been rendered unreasonably difficult by Mr. Combs’s lack of cooperation, resulting in a breakdown in attorney-client communications and rendering Sher Tremonte incapable of continuing to provide effective legal services to Mr. Combs,” it says.
Tremonte was defending Combs in civil litigation, including a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell, and Nexstar Media Inc. He did not represent Combs in his criminal trial in New York City last year.
Combs’ Response
Through his spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, Combs said the split was his decision. “I made the decision to switch lawyers because I won’t let anyone take advantage of me by overcharging me and running up bills that were never approved,” he said. “This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges.”
Tremonte pushed back in an email, writing that his firm “represented Mr. Combs zealously and very efficiently under challenging circumstances.”
“As stated in our court filings, we are withdrawing from representing him because he has not paid his long-overdue invoices and has become uncooperative,” Tremonte said. “Any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false.”
The Criminal Case
Combs is serving a 50-month sentence at a New Jersey federal prison on two interstate prostitution convictions. Prosecutors had sought 11 years.
He was acquitted of the more serious charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking, and has maintained his innocence, having pleaded not guilty to all counts. His release is scheduled for May 8, 2028, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records, though it could come sooner with good behavior.
In July, Combs was moved to solitary confinement after a fight with another inmate, a source with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.
The Bottom Line
Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs are seeking to withdraw from his $100 million defamation lawsuit, citing more than six months of unpaid fees and a breakdown in communication. Combs says the split was his decision, accusing the firm of overcharging him. Tremonte denies the claim and says Combs has been uncooperative. Combs is currently serving a 50-month sentence on prostitution convictions and is scheduled for release in 2028.
My opinion
Two things can be true at once. Combs may genuinely believe he is being overcharged. And his attorneys may genuinely be owed money they will never see. What is not in dispute is that this lawsuit is now stalled, and the man at the center of it is sitting in a prison cell in New Jersey.
The defamation case was always a long shot. Combs is serving a 50-month sentence. His release date is 2028. By the time this case goes to trial, if it ever does, the public will have moved on. His attorneys know that. That may be why they are walking away. It is hard to collect fees from a client who is incarcerated, uncooperative, and running out of money.
The real question is not who is right about the bills. It is whether this lawsuit was ever about clearing his name or just about staying in the headlines. Either way, the headlines are no longer working in his favor.
