Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, Penguin Random House, and two Times reporters. He is seeking damages for what he claims are misleading and inaccurate representations of his appearance on the reality television series The Apprentice. A federal judge in Florida threw out Trump’s first lawsuit. In reply, he filed a 40-page long amended complaint.
The amended complaint, filed recently, presents an itemized list of allegations tied to specific publications and statements made in articles that stemmed from the book “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” authored by journalists Craig and Buettner. The called-for articles, however, portray a sinister Trump, detailing his business dealings and personal life in a tone and tenor that he claims is defamatory.
Judge Steven Merryday, who presided over the initial lawsuit, indicated that the complaint was excessively lengthy, stating, “Alleging only two simple counts of defamation, the complaint consumes 85 pages.” For all of its 165 pages, he wrote, the allegations just didn’t add up fast enough.
Merryday condemned the form of the amended complaint, stating that it was “manifestly inappropriate and prohibited” under Federal Rules. He emphasized that a complaint should not serve as a vehicle for “the tedious and burdensome aggregation of prospective evidence” or for “the protracted recitation and explanation of legal authority” meant to support claims for relief. Furthermore, he pointed out that the complaint contained “many, often repetitive, and laudatory (toward President Trump) but superfluous allegations,” which detracted from its validity.
Count one of the second amended complaint is on page 80 and count two is on page 83. Since then, Judge Merryday has granted Trump an extension of 28 days to refile and amend his action. He needs to do this to fulfill the legal obligations upon him.
The original complaint, which was filed in April 2019, singled out investigative reporters Suzanne Craig, Russ Buettner and Michael S. Schmidt. It further called out Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for the New York Times. Trump’s pursuit of high compensatory damages shows his willingness to take on the media giants and change the narrative they have sought to craft.