Tekashi 6ix9ine’s lawyers plan to withdraw as his counsel following months of poor communication and unpaid bills.
According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, the Meloni & McCaffrey law firm informed U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez about their intent to stop representing 6ix9ine (a.k.a. Daniel Hernandez). Attorney Robert Meloni detailed the issues with his client, recounting how he rarely spoke with 6ix9ine.
“From June 2021 until March 2022, I had sporadic communications directly with Mr. Hernandez, and mainly communicated with him via texts,” Meloni wrote. “At the beginning of the representation, until March 2022, I communicated almost entirely with Justin Kobay, the business manager for Mr. Hernandez and his companies whenever I needed to consult with someone about this action or the other matters I was handling for Mr. Hernandez. Mr. Kobay would act as a liaison. However, Mr. Kobay resigned as business manager for Mr. Hernandez in March 2022.”
After Kobay’s resignation, Meloni said he was occasionally able to discuss matters with 6ix9ine’s brother Oscar Hernandez. 6ix9ine’s brother stopped responding to Meloni’s calls, emails and texts in September.
“There is now a total breakdown in communication between Mr. Hernandez and the Firm,” Meloni explained. “Mr. Hernandez’s last communication with me took place in early March 2022 relating to one of the other litigations. Finally, I just learned that Mr. Hernandez changed his phone number, which he did not tell me himself. He did not provide me with his new mobile number.”
Meloni struggled to represent 6ix9ine, spending months trying to locate his client. And to make matters worse, the controversial rapper allegedly hasn’t paid for any legal services since December 2021.
“Mr. Hernandez’s refusal or inability to communicate with the Firm makes it impossible for the Firm to continue its representation because, among other things, we are unable to get Mr. Hernandez’s input on discovery decisions or strategic decisions required during the course of the litigation,” Meloni wrote. “Moreover, Mr. Hernandez, who has not made a payment to the firm since December 2021, has a substantial outstanding balance for this matter and four other litigations, and has not indicated an intent or ability to make a payment in the future.”
The attorney proposed processing the withdrawal via email due to the inability to locate 6ix9ine.
“Because the Firm has no current physical address for Mr. Hernandez, the Firm plans to request that the Court permit service of the Firm’s anticipated motion by way of email to Mr. Hernandez’s brother Oscar Hernandez,” Meloni wrote. “The Firm will send a copy of this letter to Oscar Hernandez as well.”
The Meloni & McCaffrey firm was handling multiple ligations involving 6ix9ine. Those cases included a trademark battle with an artist who uses the stage name SIX9.