A Florida federal judge has thrown out Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. The judge found that the complaint was overly verbose and included “repetitive and oppressive” wording. The lawsuit, filed by the former president, stemmed from a book and an article authored by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig, which examined Trump’s finances and his rise to fame through the television show The Apprentice.
United States District Judge Steven Merryday wrote that ruling. He required Trump to replead within 28 days and further required that repleader be no more than 40 pages long. In his opinion, the judge emphasized the need for clear, unambiguous legal writing. He strongly argued that these complaints should clearly, accurately, concisely, directly, soberly, and economically put the defendants on notice of the claims and the substance of those claims.
Our defamation lawsuit centered on false claims from that article and that book. As I noted in these posts, these works proposed the myth of television producer Mark Burnett as creator of Trump the Celebrity. Trump argued that Buettner and Craig “maliciously peddled the fact-free narrative” regarding his celebrity status and included allegations related to his early business dealings and his father, Fred Trump.
Judge Merryday made clear that he does not consider legal complaints to be mere notices of lawsuit and a serious judicial document. He refuses to view them as public relations platforms. He stated, “A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally.” This brief comment reveals much about his hope for professionalism and judicial process in the legal system.
The lawsuit referenced an article published on October 20, 2024, by Peter Baker in The New York Times, titled “For Donald Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment.” Nonetheless, the judge held that Trump’s complaint fell far short of what’s needed for a legal action to proceed.
