Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorneys are asking to be removed from an ongoing civil lawsuit due to alleged unpaid legal fees.
His counsel from Sher Tremonte LLP, who have been representing the former music mogul in his $100 million defamation suit against an accuser and their lawyer, filed a motion to withdraw as counsel Monday, Sept. 14, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.
The attorneys alleged Combs, 56, “has not paid a substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses; and Sher Tremonte’s representation has been rendered unreasonably difficult by Mr. Combs’s lack of cooperation and communication, resulting in a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”
The motion, filed by Michael Tremonte, Erica Wolff and Katie Renzler, further claimed the rapper has not made any payments to the firm in “over six months” and his most recent payment was “related to fees and expenses that were incurred in late 2025.”
In addition to his alleged “refusal to pay in accordance with the express terms of his agreement to do so,” the attorneys wrote Combs has also “declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications” about the matter despite being notified of the issue multiple times.
Combs – who is currently serving a 50-month federal prison sentence for his July 2025 conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution – addressed the motion through his representative Juda Engelmayer in a statement to USA TODAY.
“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,” the statement read. “This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges.”
Engelmayer also told USA TODAY that Combs’ longtime civil litigator Jonathan Davis, who has been representing Combs and his companies in other lawsuits, “has encountered no resistance from the client in defending him.” Engelmayer added Davis said he “continues to defend Mr. Combs undaunted because he is confident the truth will be exposed” and that his client will be vindicated.
“At the appropriate time, Jonathan Davis and his firm will be [representing] Mr. Combs in his libel suit against NewsNation,” Engelmayer said.
This comes less than a week after Combs landed a major win in his $100 million defamation case against Nexstar Media, attorney Ariel Mitchell and her client Courtney Burgess, who claimed to have videos showing the Combs sexually assaulting minors and celebrities at his “freak off” sex parties. While Mitchell filed a motion for the suit to be dismissed, a judge denied her request in a Sept. 4 ruling.
Combs first took legal action in January 2025 for $50 million in damages but amended his complaint seven months later seeking an additional $50 million, accusing Burgess of making “outlandish claims” that caused “severe reputational harm” and culminated in a “media frenzy” against him.
He also accused Mitchell of damaging his reputation by vouching for Burgess’ allegations and making allegedly false statements of her own, “including that a police report corroborated an accusation of rape against Combs and that Combs had used drug-laced baby oil to incapacitate his victims.”
The case remains open, although no trial date has been set yet.
Credit: US Today
