Nationwide — Sean “Diddy” Combs could soon have a different legal team in his $100 million defamation lawsuit after one of his law firms asked a federal court to let them withdraw from the case. The firm says unpaid legal fees and a lack of communication have made it difficult to continue representing him. He disputes those claims and says the disagreement is about legal charges he did not approve.
Michael Tremonte, a partner at the Sher Tremonte firm, said in court documents that Combs has been behind on his payments for more than six months. According to Page Six, the firm claims he owes a substantial amount for legal fees, costs, and other expenses connected to the lawsuit. He also said Combs has not been available for timely and direct discussions about his cases for more than four months. He described the situation as a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship and said the representation had become “unreasonably difficult.”
Combs has rejected the firm’s explanation. He said he made the decision to change lawyers because he believed the firm was overcharging him and adding bills for work that he had never approved. He called the disagreement a business matter and said the claims about unpaid fees were connected to the dispute over those charges. Tremonte pushed back, saying the firm was withdrawing because of invoices that remained unpaid for months. He also denied that the firm had overcharged Combs.
The defamation lawsuit began in January 2025, when Combs sued music manager Courtney Burgess, attorney Ariel Mitchell, NewsNation and Nexstar Media Inc., which operates NewsNation. The original lawsuit sought $50 million in damages. It followed a NewsNation appearance in which Burgess claimed he had nearly a dozen flash drives containing alleged sex tapes involving Combs. Burgess also claimed the recordings involved male and female celebrities and minors. Combs called the allegations false and accused Burgess of repeatedly spreading them. His lawsuit also alleged that Mitchell either knew the claims were false or acted recklessly by repeating them.
Combs later amended the lawsuit and increased his damages demand to $100 million. The civil case is separate from the criminal case that resulted in his current prison sentence. In July 2025, a jury found him not guilty of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. He was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and received a 50-month prison sentence. He was later transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to federal prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey.
The latest dispute over his legal representation does not decide the underlying defamation claims. The court must still consider the law firm’s request to withdraw from the case. Meanwhile, the arguments over legal fees add another issue to a lawsuit that began over allegations Combs says were false and damaging. His separate criminal conviction remains in effect, and his projected release date from federal prison is Feb. 5, 2028.