Combs v. Burgess: Sher Tremonte Tells Court No Replacement Counsel Has Been Identified for Combs
S.D.N.Y. · Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 · Letter Filed Oct. 19, 2026
In the matter of Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y.), Sean “Diddy” Combs’s lawyers at Sher Tremonte LLP have told Judge John P. Cronan that no replacement counsel has been identified for Combs in this case and that Combs has not said whether he will represent himself. The firm’s Oct. 19, 2026 letter also says it has had no response to repeated attempts to reach him. The court has not ruled on the firm’s motion to withdraw. (ECF No. 129 at 1.)
Background
Combs sued Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell and Nexstar Media Inc. for defamation. Sher Tremonte moved on Sept. 14, 2026, for leave to withdraw as his counsel. (ECF Nos. 124–126.) At a conference on Sept. 17, the court ordered the firm to submit a status letter by Oct. 19 “regarding whether Combs intends to proceed pro se or retain new counsel.” The same order stayed discovery and adjourned, without a new date, the defendants’ deadline to answer the amended complaint and the deadline to seek reconsideration of the court’s Sept. 4 opinion. (ECF No. 128.)
The Firm’s Account
The letter describes these steps. All of it is the firm’s own account:
- On Sept. 17, the firm sent the court’s order to Combs’s power of attorney.
- It followed up by email with the power of attorney on Oct. 14 and again on Oct. 19, and received no response.
- On Oct. 14 it also mailed the order to Combs and asked him to say whether he had engaged new counsel.
- It then learned that Combs “has been moved from FCI Fort Dix to FCI Allenwood,” and on Oct. 16 resent the order and its inquiry to him at Allenwood.
The firm says it learned on Oct. 19 from one of Combs’s representatives that he has begun “exploratory” talks about replacement counsel for himself or for affiliated entities that Sher Tremonte represents in various cases. As of the filing, the letter says, no one authorized to speak for Combs “has identified replacement counsel in this matter or confirmed whether or not Mr. Combs intends to proceed pro se.” (ECF No. 129 at 1.) The letter does not name the representative or the power of attorney. The transfer between facilities is the firm’s statement; the letter cites no Bureau of Prisons record for it.
The Kelly Decision
The firm also cites Kelly v. Combs, No. 24-CV-8024 (VEC), 2026 WL 3061748 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 13, 2026), as supplemental authority on its pending motion. According to the letter, Judge Valerie Caproni granted Sher Tremonte’s motion to withdraw in that case in its entirety and granted a retaining lien pending supporting documentation. The letter quotes her as agreeing that nonpayment and the breakdown of the attorney-client relationship “are sufficient to justify Sher Tremonte’s withdrawal.” (ECF No. 129 at 1.) The letter says a copy of the decision is attached as Exhibit A. That exhibit is not in our library, so this account of Kelly rests on the letter’s description. (Kelly v. Combs has its own docket page.)
What the Letter Does Not Decide
The letter asks the court for no new relief, and the docket shows no ruling on the withdrawal motion as of this filing. Under the Sept. 17 order, discovery remains stayed pending further order of the court. Nothing in the letter addresses the merits of Combs’s claims or the defendants’ anticipated motion to dismiss.
Sources
Source: ECF Nos. 124–126, 128 and 129 on the Combs v. Burgess docket. Exhibit A to ECF No. 129 is described here only as the letter characterizes it.
Diddy Docket reports on public court records. Parties are presumed innocent or not liable unless proven otherwise. This is not legal advice.
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "On September 17, 2026, we sent Mr. Combs’s power of attorney the Court’s Order"
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "We followed up by email with Mr. Combs’s power of attorney regarding that Order on October 14, 2026, and again on October 19, 2026 and have received no response."
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "On October 14, we also mailed the Court’s Order to Mr. Combs and included in that mailing a request that he advise whether he had engaged new counsel."
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "We subsequently learned that Mr. Combs has been moved from FCI Fort Dix to FCI Allenwood"
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "on October 16, we resent the Court’s Order and our inquiry to Mr. Combs at FCI Allenwood."
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "We learned today from one of Mr. Combs’s representatives that Mr. Combs has begun “exploratory” talks regarding replacement counsel"
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "neither Mr. Combs, nor his power of attorney, nor any other authorized representative has identified replacement counsel in this matter or confirmed whether or not Mr. Combs intends to proceed pro se."
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "Kelly v. Combs"
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "granted Sher Tremonte LLP’s motion to withdraw as counsel in a similar matter involving Mr. Combs."
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "granted the request for a retaining lien pending submission of supporting documentation"
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "are sufficient to justify Sher Tremonte’s withdrawal from this matter."
- p. 1 — Letter from Sher Tremonte LLP to Judge Cronan, Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 19, 2026) (ECF No. 129), p. 1 -- "A copy of Judge Caproni’s decision in Kelly is attached hereto as Exhibit A."
- p. 1 — Order (Cronan, J.), Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Sept. 17, 2026) (ECF No. 128), p. 1 -- "by October 19, 2026, counsel for Plaintiff shall submit a status letter with any further information regarding whether Combs intends to proceed pro se or retain new counsel."
- p. 1 — Order (Cronan, J.), Combs v. Burgess et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00650 (S.D.N.Y., Sept. 17, 2026) (ECF No. 128), p. 1 -- "Discovery in this action is stayed pending further order of the Court."