Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers have called on a New York appellate court to dismiss a $454 million civil fraud judgment against him, arguing that the ruling is unconstitutional and that most of the charges should have been dismissed by the original trial judge due to statute of limitations issues.
In documents filed with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Monday, Trump’s lawyers argued that Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling on February 16 was “erroneous” and “shocking” in finding that Trump had lied about his financial matters to banks, insurance companies, and others.
“In a case with no victims, no proven harm, and no losses, a judgment awarding $464 million is entirely baseless,” the lawyers wrote in the documents.
Trump was fined $355 million in the New York civil commercial fraud case, totaling $454 million including interest. Additionally, Trump’s adult children and other co-defendants were also fined $10 million.
Consistent with arguments raised during the trial, Trump’s lawyers highlighted in the appeal that banks had sought to work with the Trump Organization and conducted due diligence, but found no evidence of fraud by the company.
Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise condemned the ruling as “severe, unlawful, and unconstitutional” in a statement.
The lawyers also argued that the presiding judge should have immediately dismissed the lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James as most of the charges had exceeded the statute of limitations.
Prior to the trial, the state intermediate appellate court in June 2023 rejected a lawsuit that included Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump as a co-defendant, finding that Ivanka was no longer part of the Trump Organization following a tolling agreement reached in August 2021 between James’s office and the Trump Organization.
In documents submitted to the appellate court on Monday, Trump’s lawyers contended that Trump should also be excluded from the charges in this case.
Letitia James’s office stated that the arguments put forth by Trump and his lawyers are unfounded and expressed confidence in prevailing in the appeal.