Donald Trump tried to block aspects of the New York Attorney General's drive to place the Trump business empire under court supervision due to what she claims is persistent fraud.
Donald Middlebrooks warned Trump and his lawyers that their legal tactics could lead to sanctions from the court.
"This litigation has all the telltale signs of being both vexatious and frivolous," Middlebrooks wrote in a footnote to his eight-page order turning down Trump's attempt to get emergency relief to stop James from getting access to details about a trust that controls some Trump businesses
The case was transferred to the federal court in Middlebrooks after Trump filed the suit in a state court.
James filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization in September, accusing it of engaging in repeated fraud in real estate, tax and insurance transactions.
It's almost impossible for firms to do business in New York if they engage in repeated illegal behavior. A state judge in Manhattan agreed to James' request for a court-appointed monitor to keep an eye on the Trump businesses. The ruling is being appealed.
The Florida suit lacked merit due to the fact that James is not located in the state. He noted that a previous lawsuit Trump filed to try to shut down James' investigation was thrown out.
There is a chance that Middlebrooks will impose sanctions on Trump or his attorneys for pursuing litigation that the judge thinks is frivolous. Middlebrooks ordered four attorneys to pay a total of $66,000 for their involvement in filing a prior Trump suit against Hillary Clinton and others.
Middlebrooks wrote that these were political grievances. incompetent lawyering can't be blamed for this. The judicial system was used to pursue political agendas.
Trump's lawyers are appealing the sanctions that were thrown out.
There were disagreements about whether or not to file the suit. Christopher Kise, a Florida-based lawyer involved in the James case in New York and other Trump legal matters, stressed last month that he wasn't behind the Florida suit aiming to preserve the secrecy of Trump's trust there
Kise doesn't represent the trust in Florida. I didn't file it
The New York Times reported last month that a top lawyer for the Trump Organization opposed a lawsuit against James.
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