Social media lit up this week with claims that Sean “Diddy” Combs is getting dropped by three of his attorneys after six months of unpaid fees. The posts, including one from @mymixtapez that spread quickly, painted a picture of the music mogul left high and dry while sitting in federal prison. The reality is a bit more precise.
On September 14, 2026, three lawyers from the same New York firm, Sher Tremonte LLP Michael Tremonte, Erica Wolff, and Katie Renzler filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. They asked a federal judge for permission to withdraw from representing Combs in his $100 million civil defamation lawsuit. The court has not yet ruled on the request, so they remain his counsel until a judge says otherwise.
The lawyers went on to say that “Mr. Combs has not paid a substantial portion of the attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses.” In addition, they pointed out that there were no payments made by him for over six months, the last payment being for work performed in late 2025. The substantial amount of the outstanding sum was beyond 90 days past due. The lawyers also alleged that there was a complete breakdown in the attorney-client relationship. It is stated in the documents that for over four months, Mr. Combs did not make himself available for discussion of the case.
No exact dollar figure for the alleged unpaid amount appears in the public filing.
Through spokesperson Juda Engelmayer, Combs offered a different account.
“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,”
He said.
“This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges.”
He indicated attorney Jonathan Davis would take over the case.
Michael Tremonte rejected that framing.
“We are withdrawing from representing him because he has not paid his long-overdue invoices and has become uncooperative,”
He said.
“Any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false.”
The firm said it had represented Combs
“zealously and very efficiently under challenging circumstances.”
This fight involves Combs’ $100 million defamation case against Nexstar Media Inc. (parent of NewsNation), attorney Ariel Mitchell, and Courtney Burgess. Combs filed the suit in January 2025, first seeking $50 million before raising the demand. He alleges that statements made on NewsNation’s Banfield program including claims about videos of alleged sexual misconduct and the use of drug-laced baby oil were false and caused severe reputational harm. Those claims remain contested in court and have not been proven. A judge recently allowed parts of the case to move forward.
This attorney dispute is limited to the civil defamation lawsuit. These lawyers did not represent Combs in his federal criminal trial, where a jury convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He is currently serving a 50-month sentence at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey.
