Fogbow

The lawsuit was not immediately made public, but two people with knowledge of the matter said that it accused the judge of ignoring an earlier appeals court decision that Mr. Trump’s lawyers believe should significantly limit the case against him. And on Thursday, the appeals court provisionally paused the trial so it can consider Mr. Trump’s action against the judge.

Judge hears arguments over scope of trial in New York's civil suit against Trump
The former president's lawyers want the state Supreme Court to dismiss the fraud lawsuit against the Trump family brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The pretrial hearing began just after 10 a.m. ET, with New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron outlining that he will be reviewing motions for summary judgment from both sides. Trump's lawyers have asked for all 7 causes of action in the New York attorney general's complaint to be dismissed, and James claims that the defendants have made frivolous arguments, Engoron said.

Trump's lawyers contended that James has "no valid authority" to sue, that the lawsuit was filed outside the statute of limitations and that her office has “failed to demonstrate any even theoretical harm to anyone, public or private.”

James' office has asked the court to find the Trumps and their family business, the Trump Organization, liable for fraud even before the trial is set to begin Oct. 2. "The undisputed evidence establishes that Defendants employed a variety of deceptive schemes to grossly inflated values for many of Mr. Trump’s assets," her office wrote in a filing.

James' office previously said there's an "overwhelming amount of evidence establishing beyond dispute" that Trump and his older sons engaged in "repeated and persistent fraudulent use of the false and misleading [Statements of Financial Condition] in connection with business transactions with banks and insurers." Therefore, the state asks that the court find Trump liable for fraud.

The inflation of assets committed by the Trump Organization is “staggering," the lawyer for the attorney general’s office said during the hearing.

Kise, meanwhile, argued that "valuations are highly subjective," for example, "I may think my house is worth 5 million and you may think it's worth 5 cents.” James is "prosecuting the defendants for engaging in successful business transactions," he added.

Kendra wrote: ↑Fri Sep 22, 2023 5:19 pm Nicolle Wallace is doing a deep dive on today's hearing, she's got the NYT reporter who did the in depth article on Fred Trump and the taxes stuff a few years ago. She was in the courtroom today.

Kendra wrote: ↑Fri Sep 22, 2023 6:00 pm Thanks for getting the video

Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling Tuesday in a civil lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

The decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse.

Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance premiums, Engoron found.

Engoron’s ruling, in a phase of the case known as summary judgment, resolves the key claim in James’ lawsuit, but six others remain.

chancery wrote: ↑Tue Sep 26, 2023 5:01 pm What surprises me is that the judge has ordered the instant cancellation of the certificates of incorporation before there's been a determination of what procedure to follow for winding up the Trump companies -- or indeed, whether an appeals court has passed on whether the drastic step of corporate cancellation rather than a lesser penalty is appropriate. Both the finding of liability and the decision as to remedy will receive a good deal of attention from the Appellate Division, and likely also from the Court of Appeals.

I think I'm on safe ground in predicting that at least re remedy portion of the order will be stayed pending appeal by the Appellate Division.