Lawyers for American rapper Sean Combs, known as P. Diddy, have refused to continue defending his interests due to unpaid bills and a complete breakdown in communication. The attorneys asked the court to allow them to withdraw from the case. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The firm Sher Tremonte represented Combs in a high-profile defamation case worth more than $100 million. However, according to the lawyers, the rapper had not paid fees, court costs and other expenses for more than six months.
"Combs has not paid a significant balance of fees, costs and expenses," said firm partner Michael Tremonte.
The lawyers also claim that over the past four months, P. Diddy refused to participate in timely and substantive negotiations. As a result, cooperation effectively ceased, and the attorneys can no longer effectively represent his interests.
Combs himself stated that he was the first to decide to change his legal team. The rapper accused the firm of inflating the cost of services and issuing bills that were not agreed with him. Sher Tremonte rejected these accusations.
Combs's lawsuit is directed against music manager Courtney Burgess, attorney Ariel Mitchell and media company Nexstar, which owns the NewsNation television channel. The rapper accuses them of spreading false statements about allegedly existing video recordings of sexual violence against celebrities and minors.
P. Diddy is currently serving a 50-month sentence. The jury acquitted him of racketeering and sex trafficking charges, but found him guilty on two counts of transporting people for prostitution.