Law firm withdraws from Sean 'Diddy' Combs' $100 million defamation case over unpaid fees
Sean "Diddy" Combs' attorneys are ending their representation in his $100 million defamation lawsuit, citing more than six months of unpaid fees and a breakdown in communication.
A New York law firm announced it is withdrawing from representing Sean "Diddy" Combs in his $100 million defamation suit, saying the rapper has failed to pay a substantial balance of attorney fees, costs and expenses. In a declaration filed in the Southern District of New York, partner Michael Tremonte said Combs is more than six months behind on payments and has not been available for substantive communication for over four months, creating a "total breakdown in cooperation and communication" that makes continued representation untenable.
"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," Combs' spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said, describing the split as a business matter.
Tremonte responded by asserting the firm had represented Combs "zealously and very efficiently under challenging circumstances" and that accusations of overcharging were false. The firm cited long-overdue invoices and the client’s lack of cooperation as reasons for the withdrawal.
Combs, who is serving a 50-month federal sentence in New Jersey for two interstate prostitution convictions, was acquitted of racketeering and sex-trafficking charges. His release is scheduled for May 8, 2028, though it could be earlier with good behavior. In July, he was placed in solitary confinement after an inmate altercation.