Sean 'Diddy' Combs Dropped by Lawyers After Lack of Payment Made Defense 'Unreasonably Difficult' in $100 Million Defamation Suit: Court Docs

Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers alleged that the rapper has not paid his legal fees in his defamation case.

The rapper is suing Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell and Nexstar Media for defamation in a $100 million lawsuit.

However, Combs' lawyer Michael Tremonte, a partner at Sher Tremonte LLP in New York, alleged he "has not paid a substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses."

According to court documents obtained by Page Six, Tremonte added that Combs, who is currently serving prison time for prostitution-related offenses, has been "in substantial arrears in paying Sher Tremonte’s legal fees” for “over six months."

The lawyer claimed his client has made it "unreasonably difficult" for Tremonte to perform his duties as the star's representative.

"For many months, while Sher Tremonte has been rendering legal services, Mr. Combs has not remitted any payment for the substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses incurred during Sher Tremonte’s representation of him in this matter," he alleged in the filing.

Tremonte slammed Combs' "lack of cooperation and communication" as having caused a "breakdown in the attorney-client relationship."

"Mr. Combs has declined to make himself available for timely, substantive and direct communications about his cases for over four months," he alleged.

The music mogul's representation has since filed with the court to "grant the instant" motion to withdraw from the case.

The suit was originally filed in January 2025 after Combs alleged that music manager Burgess falsified claims that he had flash drives containing Diddy's alleged s-- tapes while appearing in a segment on NewsNation, which is operated by Nexstar.

Per the complaint, Burgess "falsely claimed that he possessed videos of Mr. Combs involved in the sexual assault of celebrities and minors."

"Burgess repeated this false claim many times to anyone who would listen, including reporters for major news outlets (including NewsNation, which recklessly repeated and amplified his lies as if they were true)," the filing continued.

Additionally, Combs alleged that Burgess' attorney, Mitchell, was aware that her "client’s claims were false or, at a minimum, was utterly reckless in disregarding their falsity.”

The Grammy winner originally filed the lawsuit asking for $50 million in damages, but amended it to include an additional $50 million.

The musician was found not guilty last year of two counts of s-- trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and racketeering conspiracy.

As the legal drama goes on, Combs is serving 50 months behind bars at Fort Dix in New Jersey. He is set to be released in February 2028.