Jan. 8 (UPI) — A state judge in New York has denied a request to quash a $250 million lawsuit against former president Donald Trump, three of his children and his company, the Trump Organization.
Judge Arthur Engoron rejected legal arguments to throw out the lawsuit put forth by Trump lawyers, calling them “frivolous” in his written ruling issued Friday.
James filed the civil lawsuit in New York State Supreme accusing Trump, his children and the company of participating in an illegal scheme that amassed $250 million by fraudulently overvaluing assets.
She is attempting to recover money she argues was received through deceptive practices.
The state is also is seeking to bar Trump and the three children from serving as officers or directors in any New York company. The former president would also be barred from entering any commercial real estate transactions or applying for loans for five years if the lawsuit is successful.
“We sued Mr. Trump because we found that he engaged in years of extensive financial fraud to enrich himself and cheat the system,” James said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“Today’s decision makes clear that Donald Trump is not above the law and must answer for his actions in court.”
Friday’s ruling keeps the case on schedule to go to trial in October, although Trump’s lead lawyer said Friday the former president plans to appeal the decision.
“We look forward to receiving a full and proper review of our arguments on appeal,” Alina Habba said in a statement issued to Bloomberg.
Earlier in the week, Engoron had threatened sanctions against Trump’s lawyers, calling their legal arguments repetitive and unfounded.
“Here, sophisticated defense counsel should have known better,” the judge wrote in his decision.
“Reading these arguments was, to quote the baseball sage Lawrence Peter (‘Yogi’) Berra, ‘Déjà vu all over again.'”
