Sean Combs and his own lawyers are now fighting each other in public, and it has nothing to do with the criminal case that put him in federal prison.

Three attorneys from Sher Tremonte LLP, Michael Tremonte, Katie Renzler and Erica Wolff, filed a motion on Monday, September 14, asking to withdraw as counsel in Combs's $100 million defamation lawsuit. The firm told the court that Combs hasn't paid legal fees in more than six months and has stopped engaging with them altogether, according to NBC News.

Combs isn't taking that lying down. Through his representative Juda Engelmayer, he put out a statement on Wednesday, September 16, published by USA Today, saying he switched lawyers because the firm was running up bills he never signed off on.

"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," the statement reads. "This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges."

Tremonte wasn't having it either. In a response to NBC News, he flatly rejected the overcharging claim and doubled down on the version laid out in the court filing.

"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," Tremonte said. "Any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false."

The filing itself goes further than money. It says Combs's "lack of cooperation" has caused a "breakdown in attorney-client communications" that has left the firm "incapable of continuing to provide effective legal services." Tremonte also claims Combs "declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications" for several months running.

What the lawsuit is actually about

This isn't the criminal matter. This is a separate civil defamation suit Combs filed against music manager Courtney Burgess, who claimed to be holding video footage of Combs's so-called freak-offs. The complaint also named Nexstar Media and Burgess's attorney, Ariel Mitchell. Sher Tremonte has been the firm steering that fight.

Combs, 56, is currently serving time in federal prison after being convicted on charges tied to transportation to engage in prostitution. His release date has been reported as 2028. Running a $100 million defamation case from behind bars, with lawyers scattered across other matters too, was never going to be simple, and this filing suggests it's gotten harder rather than easier.

Whoever is right about the invoices, the practical problem doesn't go away. A court still has to decide whether Sher Tremonte can actually exit the case, and if the withdrawal goes through, Combs will need new counsel willing to take on a defamation fight against a client currently unreachable in a federal facility. No hearing date on the withdrawal motion has been reported yet.