A federal judge rejected Trump’s $15B defamation suit against The New York Times, calling it improper and giving him a month to refile a shorter complaint.
A federal judge has dismissed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, calling the 85-page complaint improper and excessive.
Judge Steven D. Merryday of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled Friday that Trump’s filing “stands unmistakably and inexcusably athwart the requirements of Rule 8” of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Civil complaints, he said, must be “short, plain, direct” statements of fact, not “a public forum for vituperation and invective” or “a megaphone for public relations.”
Merryday granted Trump’s legal team four weeks to refile the suit, limiting it to 40 pages. Trump’s spokesperson vowed to refile, insisting the former president would “continue to hold the Fake News accountable.”
The Times welcomed the ruling, saying the complaint was a political statement rather than a legal case. Executive editor Joe Kahn added: “We’ll fight it, and we’ll win.”