Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee is withdrawing as attorney from at least 15 sexual abuse and trafficking lawsuits against Diddy, claiming he is not able to practice law in the Southern District of New York.
As we previously shared, on the heels of Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee dropping his sexual assault lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, reports surfaced about him being denied the ability to practice law in New York City. On February 22, independent legal reporter Meghann Cuniff and journalist Loren Lorosa shared court documents supporting the reports.
Cuniff wrote on X:
“His lawsuit against JAY-Z is dismissed and not coming back. And now, Tony Buzbee is trying to ensure he can keep litigating his other lawsuits against Diddy because his admission application in the Southern District of New York was denied.”
SDNY Committee Reportedly Bars Houston Attorney Tony Buzbee From Practicing Law In NYC Amid JAY-Z And Diddy Lawsuit Dismissal
Cuniff shared screenshots of the documents. She added, “As the order says, Buzbee can seek ‘pro hac vice’ admission, and that’s what he’s doing now in the Diddy lawsuits. Or trying to at least.” “Pro hac vice” is a practice in common law jurisdictions whereby a lawyer, who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction, is then allowed to for a particular case in that jurisdiction.
Adding additional screenshots of legal documents, Cuniff said:fff
“The judge in this particular lawsuit (McCrary v. Combs) ordered Buzbee to apply for pro hac vice admission after she figured out what was going on. The Court has been informed that Mr. Buzbee is not admitted to practice in the Southern District of New York.”
Cunniff also noted that she believed “pro hac vice” is for “out-of-state attorneys who are only doing one case, not dozens and dozens and dozens.” Joining Cuniff, journalist Loren Lorosa shared similar reports about Tony Buzbee’s denied access to practice law in NYC. She said:
“Attorney Tony Buzbee — an attorney who has been recently linked to civil suits against both JAY-Z and Diddy — has been denied the ability or ‘admission’ to practice in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. This decision was made by the committee on grievances for the SDNY NOT a judge. I wanted to correct my use of ‘judge’ here. By definition: The Committee on Grievances for the Southern District of New York is a committee that investigates complaints of attorney misconduct. The committee is appointed by the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court. But their denial still stands on how he must now move forward in any SDNY court — if granted admission to even do that.”
Tony Buzbee Withdraws From Several Diddy Sexual Abuse And Trafficking Lawsuits, Unable To Practice In NYC
Nearly a month after the initial reports about Tony Buzbee not being able to practice law in New York, he has now withdrawn as an attorney against Diddy in at least 15 sexual abuse and trafficking cases. According to the Houston Chronicle, on Monday (March 17), Buzbee, who has over 120 cases against Diddy, filed a notice of motion to withdraw from his lawsuits until he is able to practice in the Southern District of New York.
In an email statement on Tuesday (March 18), Buzbee claimed that JAY-Z filed a grievance against him. He said Hov alleged that Buzbee was practicing in the Southern District of New York “without formal admission.” On March 11, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams issued an order. In it, Abrams said Buzbee received a warning “several weeks ago in a parallel case” that he violated a civil local rule. Abrams gave Buzbee until March 18 to explain “why he failed to notify the Court about this issue earlier and propos[ed] next steps to rectify it.”
Subsequently, on March 17, Buzbee withdrew his appearance as the representing attorney in one of his cases, leading to more. He stated that his colleagues at a New York law firm will continue to represent his clients. Buzbee explained:
“Most of the cases we have filed are in state court. Until that administrative issue is sorted out, my colleagues who are formally admitted in the SDNY will continue to push those cases while I continue to march forward in the New York State cases. We also will be filing cases in Nevada and California very soon.”
Tony Bubzee Details Withdrawal From Diddy Cases In New York
Buzbee failed to mention whether he would file the additional cases in state or federal courts in Nevada and California. It’s also unclear if he is able to practice in those jurisdictions. However, in his letter to Abrams, Buzbee said:
“I made an error in judgment by failing to inform you that I was not admitted to the Southern District. I now seek to remedy this error by withdrawing my representation of the Plaintiff in this matter pending the resolution of my admission to this court. As an attorney in good standing of the New York State Bar, the Texas State Bar, and your sister district, the Bar for Eastern District of the State of New York, I believe I am eminently qualified and should not be precluded from representing the plaintiff in this action. At this time, however, my admission status has become a distraction that has shifted the focus of the matter away from where it should be, which is securing justice for the plaintiff.”
Buzbee further tells TMZ that he is a “licensed New York lawyer in good standing.” He says he is admitted to practicing law in the Eastern District of New York. However, he claims his SDNY admission “got held up” due to JAY-Z filing a grievance against him in a separate case. He continues to explain:
“I personally withdrew, not my firm, from the few federal court cases we have on file until such time as my admission is cleared up. I’m still [the] attorney in charge in all the New York state cases and intend to file cases very soon in Nevada and California.”
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