BREAKING: NY appeals court tosses Tish James' $454 million civil fraud judgment against Trump, family, business

An appeals court in New York has tossed the $454 million civil fraud judgment against President Donald Trump, members of his family, and his company.

Per ABC News, the NY Appellate Division First Department ruled that while the "injunctive relief" ordered by the judge in the case was "well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture" at the Trump Organization, the large monetary penalty, “which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
 

The court, however, ruled that the New York Supreme Court and Attorney General Letitia James "correctly found defendants liable. We agree with Supreme Court that the Attorney General acted well within her lawful power in bringing this action, and that she vindicated a public interest in doing so. We also find that Supreme Court properly ruled only on claims that are timely under the applicable statute of limitations."

The opinion later stated, "while harm certainly occurred, it was not the cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half billion-dollar award to the State. It is a virtue of the statute that the Attorney General may act, as she did in this case, before a potential catastrophe occurs, to deter further fraudulent business behavior by defendants specifically, and to police market behavior generally. However, having achieved these goals the State is not entitled to compound its victory with a massive punitive fine."
 

Trump's former personal attorney Alina Habba, who had represented Trump in the case, said in a statement, "Today's ruling by the New York appeals court is a resounding victory for President Trump and his company. The court struck down the outrageous and unlawful $464 million penalty, confirming what we have said from the beginning: the Attorney General's case was politically motivated, legally baseless, and grossly excessive."

Trump had been ordered to pay $354 million in 2024 by Judge Arthur Engoron, who found that Trump, sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and his business were liable for fraud. An additional $100 million in interest had accrued on that total when Engoron issued his ruling in February of 2024. An additional $10 million, bringing that total to $464 million, was in relation to other defendants. 

Trump celebrated the court victory, writing, "TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case! I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before."

"This was a Case of Election Interference by the City and State trying to show, illegally, that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT. Every single Dollar was thrown out, even the penalties imposed on us by the Corrupt Judge, one of the most overturned in History, Arthur Engoron. I wasn’t given a Jury and, during the course of the Trial, which lasted a long time, was not given one Ruling in my favor by this Political Hack, but worse than him, if that’s possible, was Letitia James, a Corrupt and Incompetent Attorney General who only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically. She is a Trump Deranged Lunatic!"

In a statement, James said, "The First Department today affirmed the well-supported finding of the trial court: Donald Trump, his company, and two of his children are liable for fraud. The court upheld the injunctive relief we won, limiting Donald Trump and the Trump Organization officers’ ability to do business in New York. It should not be lost to history: yet another court has ruled that the president violated the law, and that our case has merit."

"We will seek appeal to the Court of Appeals and continue to protect the rights and interests of New Yorkers," she added. 

This is a breaking story. Please refresh the page for updates.

 

People of the State of NY v Trump by Hannah Nightingale