Güzel v. Combs: Judge Declines to Sign Sher Tremonte's Order to Show Cause on Withdrawal
N.Y. Sup. Ct. · Index No. 152568/2025 · Order to Show Cause Declined Sept. 16, 2026
In the matter of Güzel v. Combs, et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty.), Justice Leslie A. Stroth has declined to sign an order to show cause, a form of court order that sets the hearing and briefing schedule for a motion, proposed by Sher Tremonte LLP as part of its request to withdraw as counsel for Sean Combs and five affiliated companies. (ECF Nos. 170, 171, 172.)
Background
Seven Güzel sued Combs and others in New York County Supreme Court; her amended complaint alleges sexual assault by Combs. (ECF No. 23.) Sher Tremonte represents Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment LLC, Bad Boy Entertainment Holdings, Inc., Daddy’s House Recordings Inc., CE Opco LLC and Revolt Media and TV LLC, which the firm’s papers call the “Combs Defendants.” (ECF No. 171 ¶ 1.)
On Sept. 2, 2026, the Combs Defendants moved to stay discovery while they appeal the court’s July 9, 2026 decision. (ECF No. 148.) Güzel’s counsel then noticed Combs’s deposition for Oct. 5 (ECF No. 154) and five of the companies’ for Oct. 8 (ECF Nos. 156–160).
The Affirmation
In an affirmation filed Sept. 15, a sworn statement made under penalty of perjury, partner Michael Tremonte asks the court under CPLR § 321(b)(2) to “dismiss” him, Erica Wolff and Michael Bass as counsel for the Combs Defendants. (ECF No. 171 ¶ 2.) He cites three grounds in New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.16(c): that withdrawal “can be accomplished without material adverse effect on the interests of the client,” that the client “deliberately disregards an agreement or obligation to the lawyer as to expenses or fees,” and that the client “fails to cooperate in or otherwise renders the engagement unreasonably difficult for the lawyer to carry out.” (Id. ¶ 4.)
Tremonte states that the firm sent monthly invoices through Combs’s power of attorney and that nonpayment “for over six months” left the Combs Defendants “falling far behind on their payments despite numerous reminders.” (Id. ¶ 5.) He also states that Combs “has declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months.” (Id. ¶ 6.) He states that “[t]rial is not scheduled, and there are no hearings that would be delayed by Sher Tremonte’s withdrawal.” (Id. ¶ 7.) The firm says it will give the court more detail “in camera,” meaning privately, and that it told Combs by mail on Sept. 3 and Sept. 11 that it would seek to withdraw. (Id. ¶¶ 8, 11.)
The affirmation also addresses the deposition notices. It states that no preliminary conference has been held and that the court “has not ordered any deadlines for forthcoming proceedings.” (Id. ¶ 3.) It calls the notices premature and “unenforceable,” and asks that, if they are treated as valid, those dates and any other deadlines be adjourned 30 days. (Id.)
The Proposed Order
The proposed order directed the Combs Defendants to show cause, on a date left blank, why the three lawyers should not be dismissed as counsel and deadlines stayed for 30 days. It would also have stayed the case “until the Court issues a ruling on this motion to withdraw.” (ECF No. 170 at 1–2.)
The Judge’s Response
The copy posted Sept. 18 carries Justice Stroth’s handwritten response: “Decline to sign. This firm is counsel to the Combs defendants in many matters before this court at various stages of litigation. The court will not permit withdrawal based on the reasons stated (e.g. difficulty in communication the last 4 months, while Mr. Combs has been incarcerated), and without substitution of new counsel.” (Id. at 2.)
The Other Side
No position from Güzel’s counsel on the withdrawal appears in these filings, and the answering and reply dates in the proposed order were left blank. Tremonte states that Combs “will be provided a copy of these papers in their as-filed form.” (ECF No. 171 ¶ 12.) None of the three documents states Combs’s own position.
What’s Next
The note sets no hearing date and does not say whether the firm may renew its request. It does not address the Combs Defendants’ stay motion or the Oct. 5 and Oct. 8 deposition notices. In Combs’s separate defamation suit in federal court, where Sher Tremonte filed a similar motion to withdraw a day earlier (see the earlier Dispatch), Judge John P. Cronan ordered on Sept. 17 that counsel file a status letter by Oct. 19, 2026 on whether Combs will proceed pro se, meaning without a lawyer, or retain new counsel. (ECF No. 128, No. 1:25-cv-00650 (JPC) (S.D.N.Y.).)
Counsel and Sources
Seven Güzel is represented by Merson Law, PLLC. The Combs Defendants are represented by Michael Tremonte, Erica A. Wolff and Michael Bass of Sher Tremonte LLP, which has asked to withdraw. Source: ECF Nos. 23, 148, 154, 156–160, 170, 171 and 172 on the Güzel v. Combs docket.
Diddy Docket reports on public court records. Parties are presumed innocent or not liable unless proven otherwise. This is not legal advice.
- ECF No. 23 — Amended Verified Complaint, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty.) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 23) -- "Sean Combs (hereinafter “Combs”) and the people and entities that enabled him in his gender-motivated violence, sexual assaults, rapes, and other torts directed at Plaintiff"
- ¶ 1 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "I am a partner at the law firm of Sher Tremonte LLP (“Sher Tremonte”), attorneys for Defendants Sean Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment LLC, Bad Boy Entertainments Holdings, Inc., Daddy’s House Recordings Inc., CE Opco LLC, and Revolt Media and TV LLC (the “Combs Defendants”)."
- ¶ 2 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "Pursuant to CPLR § 321(b)(2), Sher Tremonte respectfully requests that the Court dismiss Michael Tremonte, Erica Wolff and Michael Bass of Sher Tremonte as counsel for the Combs Defendants in the above-captioned matter."
- ¶ 3 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "No preliminary conference has been held, no preliminary conference order has been issued, and this Court has not ordered any deadlines for forthcoming proceedings in this case. ... those notices are procedurally improper, are premature, were filed notwithstanding the pendency of Defendants’ Motion to Stay Discovery, and are accordingly unenforceable. ... we request that the dates set forth therein together with any other deadlines in this matter be adjourned 30-days"
- ¶ 4 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "withdrawal can be accomplished without material adverse effect on the interests of the client, ... deliberately disregards an agreement or obligation to the lawyer as to expenses or fees, ... fails to cooperate in or otherwise renders the engagement unreasonably difficult for the lawyer to carry out,"
- ¶ 5 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "Sher Tremonte has sent Mr. Combs monthly invoices through Mr. Combs’s power of attorney, but Mr. Combs failure to pay these invoices for over six months has resulted in the Combs Defendants falling far behind on their payments despite numerous reminders."
- ¶ 6 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "Mr. Combs has declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months."
- ¶ 7 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "Trial is not scheduled, and there are no hearings that would be delayed by Sher Tremonte’s withdrawal. The Combs Defendants will not be prejudiced by the withdrawal."
- ¶ 8 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "We are prepared to provide additional details to the Court concerning the basis of this motion, in camera or otherwise, at the Court’s request."
- ¶¶ 11-12 — Affirmation of Michael Tremonte in Support of Motion to Withdraw, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 15, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 171) -- "September 3, 2026, by mail to Mr. Combs (and Mr. Combs’s power of attorney was notified on the same date by email) that counsel would seek to withdraw due to nonpayment of legal fees and a breakdown in attorney-client communications. Subsequently, Sher Tremonte again notified Mr. Combs by mail on September 11, 2026 ... Mr. Combs will be provided a copy of these papers in their as-filed form."
- p. 1 — [Proposed] Order to Show Cause re: Withdrawal of Counsel, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty.) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 170), p. 1 -- "dismissing Michael Tremonte, Erica Wolff and Michael Bass of Sher Tremonte LLP as counsel for the Combs Defendants in the above-captioned matter; and ... staying any deadlines in this case for 30 days to allow the Combs Defendants sufficient time to obtain new counsel."
- p. 2 — [Proposed] Order to Show Cause re: Withdrawal of Counsel, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty.) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 170), p. 2 -- "AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this case, and any deadlines therein, shall be stayed until the Court issues a ruling on this motion to withdraw by Order to Show Cause; ... service of this Order to Show Cause, and the papers upon which it is based, by NYSCEF to all parties, and to Mr. Combs by mail"
- p. 1 — Order to Show Cause re: Withdrawal of Counsel as returned by the court, with handwritten notation dated 9/16/26, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty.) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 172, filed Sept. 18, 2026), p. 1 -- "[handwritten insertions] and plaintiff ... 12 ... 442 [printed: ORAL ARGUMENT DIRECTED; diagonal line drawn across page]"
- p. 2 — Order to Show Cause re: Withdrawal of Counsel as returned by the court, with handwritten notation dated 9/16/26, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty.) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 172, filed Sept. 18, 2026), p. 2 -- "[handwritten insertion] pending the hearing on [replacing struck “until the Court issues a ruling on”] ... [handwritten note above signature, 9/16/26:] Decline to sign. This firm is counsel to the Combs defendants in many matters before this court at various stages of litigation. The court will not permit withdrawal based on the reasons stated (e.g. difficulty in communication the last 4 months, while Mr. Combs has been incarcerated), and without substitution of new counsel."
- ECF No. 148 — Notice of Motion to Stay Discovery, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 2, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 148) -- "for an order: (a) staying any discovery of Defendants in this action pending resolution of Defendants’ appeal of this Court’s Decision and Order dated July 9, 2026 and entered July 22, 2026"
- ECF No. 154 — Amended Notice of Videotaped Deposition of Sean Combs, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 3, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 154) -- "the testimony, upon audio-recorded and videotaped oral examination, of defendant SEAN COMBS ... on October 5, 2026"
- ECF Nos. 156-160 — Notice of Videotaped Deposition of Bad Boy Entertainment LLC, Güzel v. Combs et al., Index No. 152568/2025 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cnty. Sept. 4, 2026) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 156; Doc. Nos. 157-160 are the parallel notices to the four other companies) -- "on October 8, 2026 at 10:00 a.m."
- ECF No. 128 (federal) — Order, Combs v. Burgess et al., No. 1:25-cv-00650 (JPC) (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2026) (ECF No. 128) -- "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."