Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with a $581,893.75 legal bill from his former civil attorneys, and the amount relates to just one of his ongoing lawsuits.
According to an October 30 letter to Judge John P. Cronan , Sher Tremonte LLP has asked the court to establish a retaining lien of $581,893.75 in Combs’ defamation lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell, and Nexstar.
The law firm is also seeking a charging lien for the same amount, which could give it access to any money Combs receives through a settlement or judgment against the defendants.
Michael Tremonte supported the requested amount in a sworn declaration, which also referenced a spreadsheet detailing the hours worked and billing rates for the Burgess case. The document was filed under seal. The firm explained that it did not include the actual invoices because it has handled dozens of legal matters for Combs over more than two years, with the bills covering work across multiple cases. However, it said the invoices could be submitted under seal if Judge Cronan requests them.
The legal dispute became public on Monday, September 14, when the firm filed a motion to withdraw from representing Combs. At the time, it claimed he was more than six months behind on payments and pointed to “a total breakdown in cooperation and communication.”
Cronan approved Sher Tremonte’s withdrawal from the case and granted the firm a retaining lien over the legal files, pending documentation establishing how much Combs owed.
Combs previously described the separation as a disagreement over legal fees.
“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 in a September statement, according to NBC News.
However, Tremonte disputed the allegations, also telling NBC News that “any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false.”
The latest bill comes just weeks after Justice Phaedra F. Perry-Bond ordered Combs on October 6 to pay $477,700.50 in legal fees incurred by NBCUniversal and its co-defendants while defending themselves against his unsuccessful lawsuit over Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, according to People.
Cronan still needs to determine whether Sher Tremonte is entitled to the full $581,893.75 and whether the firm will be granted the requested charging lien.
