Diddy is speaking out after his lawyers reportedly filed a motion to withdraw from a civil lawsuit, citing unpaid legal fees. Three of Diddy’s attorneys claimed that the music mogul hasn’t paid legal fees for six months. However, Diddy denied the claims, saying the unpaid fees are part of a business dispute.
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Diddy Denies Attorneys’ Claim Of Unpaid Legal Fees
Aht! Aht! Diddy isn’t having it after his attorneys claimed that he hasn’t paid their legal fees in more than six months. The music mogul released a statement after the lawyers filed a motion seeking removal from a civil lawsuit, according to USA Today.
Michael Tremonte, Katie Renzler, and Erica Wolff from Sher Tremonte LLP had been representing Combs in a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit was reportedly filed against music manager Courtney Burgess after he claimed to have video footage of Comb’s freak-offs. Nexstar Media and Burgess’ attorney, Ariel Mitchell, were also named in the complaint.
Tremonte filed its motion to withdraw as Diddy’s counsel on Monday, September 14. Diddy is serving time in federal prison after being convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs’ release date is reportedly in 2028, and he reportedly responded to the attorneys’ claims via his representative, Juda Engelmayer. The statement was published on Wednesday, September 16, via USA Today.
Diddy says that he decided to change attorneys because he was being overcharged by the law firm.
“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,” reads the statement. “This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges.”
His Attorneys’ Claim Unpaid Legal Fees
Tremonte and his firm were defending Combs in his $100 million defamation lawsuit, and he claims the 56-year-old hasn’t paid legal fees in “over six months.”
Furthermore, the attorney claims that the Bad Boy Records founder hasn’t made himself available for direct communication for several months, per NBC News.
“The Firm’s representation has been rendered unreasonably difficult by Mr. Combs’s lack of cooperation, resulting in a breakdown in attorney-client communications and rendering Sher Tremonte incapable of continuing to provide effective legal services to Mr. Combs,” claimed Tremonte, adding that Diddy “declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications…”
Lawyer Doubled Down Following Diddy’s Denial
Tremonte responded after the 56-year-old claimed he’d been overcharged by his law firm, according to NBC News. The attorney reiterated his claim that the mogul was uncooperative while calling the overcharge accusation “false.”
“As stated in our court filings, 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.”
Furthermore, Tremonte claimed that there’s been a “total breakdown in cooperation and communication between Mr. Combs and the Firm.”
