Diddy’s lawyers seek to withdraw as they accuse rapper of failure to pay and causing ‘difficult’ representation

Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs are seeking to be relieved as counsel for the incarcerated music mogul in his defamation case against multiple parties, alleging the rapper has failed to render payment for six months.  

In court documents obtained by The Daily Mail, the law firm Sher Tremonte LLP filed a motion requesting for leave to withdraw as Combs’s counsel in his lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell, and NewsNation’s parent company Nexstar Media Inc. 

Attorney Michael Tremonte, a partner at the law firm, alleged Combs is in ‘substantial arrears in paying’ for their work and has made representation ‘unreasonably difficult’ due to his ‘lack of cooperation.’

Tremonte has asked that the court ‘grant the instant motion to withdraw’ as lawyers for Combs.

Through a representative, Combs said he was changing lawyers after being overcharged by the firm – a claim Tremonte called ‘simply false.’ 

‘Mr. Combs is in substantial arrears in paying Sher Tremonte’s legal fees,’ Michael wrote in legal documents seeking withdrawal. ‘For many months, while Sher Tremonte has been rendering legal services, Mr. Combs has not remitted any payment for the substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses incurred during Sher Tremonte’s representation of him in this matter.’

‘More specifically, Mr. Combs has not paid Sher Tremonte anything for over six months and his last payment related to fees and expenses that were incurred in late 2025. Accordingly, a substantial portion of the total overdue balance consists of invoices that are over 90 days in arrears.’

According to Tremonte, the continued representation of Combs poses an ‘unreasonable financial burden’ on the firm due to the ‘magnitude of past due balances’ and ‘volume of work.’ 

Further, Tremonte claims they have had a ‘total breakdown in cooperation and communication’ with Combs. 

‘In addition to Mr. Combs’s refusal to pay in accordance with the express terms of his agreement to do so, there has been a total breakdown in cooperation and communication between Mr. Combs and the Firm. Mr. Combs has declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months.’

They said their ability to represent Combs has been made ‘unreasonably difficult’ by his ‘lack of cooperation.’ 

‘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.’

They claim Combs has been notified on ‘multiple occasions’ of their concerns as well. 

‘Mr. Combs has been notified on multiple occasions both by mail and through email to his power of attorney that Sher Tremonte would seek to withdraw as counsel unless Sher Tremonte’s legal fees were paid and he made himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about this case.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to a representative for Combs and his lawyer for comment. 

A representative for Diddy responded to the claims with a quote from the rapper, who is currently behind bars after he was convicted on two prostitution charges last year. 

‘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,’ Diddy, through his representative Juda Engelmayer, said in a statement provided to The Daily Mail. 

‘This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges,’ he added. 

Engelmayer, on behalf of Diddy’s lawyer Jonathan Davis, further added:  ‘Jonathan Davis, Mr. Combs’s civil litigator for 33 years, has been representing him and his companies in lawsuits in multiple states since his arrest in 2024, and has encountered no resistance from the client in defending him. 

‘The complications of representing an incarcerated client are always difficult, but never insurmountable. Mr. Davis said that he “continues to defend Mr. Combs undaunted because he is confident the truth will be exposed” and that his client will be vindicated.’ 

Tremonte denied Combs’s claims in a statement to The Daily Mail.  

‘We 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. Any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false.’ 

Diddy is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence following a widely publicized trial last year.  

A jury found Diddy guilty of two counts of transporting prostitutes across state lines for the purpose of sex at his 2025 federal trial. He was acquitted by the jury on the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

A judge sentenced the rapper to four years and two months in prison as the sentence began in October 2025.

Diddy’s release date has moved a number of times since he started serving his 50-month sentence, after his conviction on two prostitution charges back in October 2025.

He was originally set to be released in the summer before the date moved up to April, then February, then January and now back to February.