Topline
The attorneys who’ve been representing Sean “Diddy” Combs in his $100 million defamation lawsuit against Nexstar Media, attorney Ariel Mitchell and grand jury witness Courtney Burgess have dropped him as a client over what they say is six months worth of unpaid bills and an unwillingness to cooperate on the part of Combs.
Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.
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Key Facts
Michael Tremonte, a partner at Sher Tremonte LLP, filed a motion in New York federal court to be removed as Combs’ legal counsel because the star “has not paid a substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses.”
In his letter to the court, Tremonte said Combs has made representing him “unreasonably difficult” by refusing to communicate or cooperate with his defense for more than four months.
Combs spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told NBC News the rapper made the decision to switch lawyers on his own because he “won’t let anyone take advantage of me by overcharging me and running up bills that were never approved,” but Tremonte pushed back and said, “any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false.”
It’s unclear if Combs plans to proceed with the case without the Sher Tremonte attorneys, one of two $100 million lawsuits he’s filed against news agencies who’ve covered the numerous sexual assault and other allegations against him (the other, against NBCUniversal, was dismissed).
Sher Tremonte also represents Combs in a handful of civil sexual assault lawsuits filed against him, and it’s unclear the firm will also withdraw from those cases.
Key background
Combs in 2025 sued Nexstar Media (the owner of NewsNation), Mitchell and Burgess after broadcasts on NewsNation’s “Banfield program” reported allegations he possessed videos of sexual misconduct involving minors and used drug-laced baby oil to incapacitate sexual assault victims. Combs’ legal team argued that the claims were lies pushed to profit from media frenzy, contaminate the jury pool in his criminal trial and ruin his reputation. A judge later dismissed three of four claims made against Nexstar, ruling that he failed to show actual malice for most aired statements, but allowed the claim regarding the “drug-laced baby oil” allegation to proceed to settlement discussions or trial. The parties are currently weighing settlement talks, according to documents filed with the court earlier this month.
TANGENT
Combs was sentenced to just over four years in prison last October after he was convicted on two prostitution counts. He avoided a lengthier prison sentence after he was acquitted on more serious charges, which included racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking. He’s serving his 50-month sentence at the low security Fort Dix federal prison in New Jersey and is scheduled to be released in May 2028, though he could be released sooner with good behavior. He reportedly faced internal disciplinary reviews over an unapproved three-way phone call made from the facility and rumors about contraband, and was reportedly moved to solitary confinement after a fight with another inmate in July.
BIG NUMBER
More than 70. That’s how many civil lawsuits in which Combs has been named as a defendant against allegations of sexual misconduct and assault. He and his attorneys maintain his innocence.
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