Judge Tosses Trump's $15B Defamation Suit Against NYT, Orders Shorter Refiling Within 28 Days

A federal judge in Florida has thrown out President Donald Trump's $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, and he did it in a four-page order that read less like a procedural ruling than a rebuke. Judge Merryday gave Trump's lawyers 28 days to file a new version, capped at 40 pages.

The judge's central complaint was about what the filing was for. A complaint, Merryday wrote, is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally. He wrote that the case would begin, continue and end under the rules of procedure, in a professional and dignified manner. He also noted that every lawyer knows, or is presumed to know, that a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective, nor a protected platform to rage against an adversary. Lawyers get a modicum of expressive latitude when pleading a client's claim, he wrote, but this complaint went far beyond the outer bound of it.

The structure of the filing drew particular attention. According to the judge, the first actual defamation claim did not appear until page 80. Before that, the document spent extensive space on Trump's work on The Apprentice and on his many media appearances.

The suit named four Times journalists and rested on a book and three articles published in the two months before the last presidential election. It specifically challenged reporting by Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig on Trump's finances and on his pre-presidency role in The Apprentice. Trump argued the reporters maliciously peddled a fact-free narrative that television producer Mark Burnett had turned him into a celebrity, when in his telling he was already widely known and successful in business.

The complaint also contested claims about his early business dealings and statements about his father, Fred Trump. It further cited a Peter Baker article from October 20, 2024, headlined "For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment," and a piece by Michael S. Schmidt from October 22, 2024, featuring former Chief of Staff John Kelly, headlined "As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator."

The two sides responded in different registers. Trump spokesman Aaron Harison said the legal team plans to proceed with the lawsuit in accordance with the judge's direction on logistics. The Times called the suit meritless and politically motivated. Spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said the paper welcomed the judge's quick ruling, which he said recognized that the complaint was a political document rather than a serious legal filing.

The case is one of several Trump has brought against news organizations. He previously sued ABC News and CBS News' 60 Minutes, and both of those cases were settled out of court. In July, he sued The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over the newspaper's reporting on his ties to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The next marker is the amended complaint, due within 28 days at no more than 40 pages. The question is whether a leaner filing can survive a fresh motion to dismiss, and whether the judge's criticism shapes how Trump's other media suits are written.