Trump asks New York appeals court to throw out $454 million civil judgment

Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a New York appeals court to throw out the $454 million judgment in his civil fraud trial, arguing that the monetary penalty was unconstitutional and that most of the case should have been barred because the conduct was too old.

Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a New York appeals court Monday to throw out the $454 million judgment in his civil fraud trial, arguing that the monetary penalty was unconstitutional and that most of the case should have been barred because the conduct was too old. The former president’s attorneys raised several other legal arguments they lost at the trial court-level, including that no bank or counterparty lost money on loans, saying the judge made reversal mistakes in his rulings. The filings are Trump’s latest attempt to throw out the $454 million judgment levied by state Judge Arthur Engoron in February, who found Trump, two of his sons – Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump – and their real estate business liable for fraud. The New York attorney general’s office will file their opposition papers next month. The appeals court could take up the case as soon as September. “The award of $464 million in a case with no victims, no proven injuries, and no losses is not remotely defensible,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. The additional $10 million relates to other defendants in the case. “The ‘actual harm inflicted’ is nil,” they argued. “Thus, any punitive award would result in a ratio that is virtually infinite. The award of $464 million in a case with no victims, no proven injuries, and no losses is not remotely defensible.” Trump’s attorneys said Engoron erred when he declined to toss most of the case after the appeals court ruled last year before the civil trial that certain conduct fell outside of the statute of limitations.