Donald Trump can sue niece Mary over NY Times article, New York appeals court rules

The Appellate Division in Manhattan found a “substantial” legal basis for Trump to claim that his niece violated confidentiality provisions of a 2001 settlement over the estate of his father, Fred Trump Sr.

A five-judge panel said it was unclear whether Mary Trump’s disclosures were subject to confidentiality, or how long both sides intended the provisions to remain in effect.

“At a minimum, nominal damages may still be available on the breach of contract claim even in the absence of actual damages,” the court said. Donald Trump had sought $100 million.

Lawyers for Mary Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

They had argued that Trump’s lawsuit violated a state law to stop litigation designed to “chill and retaliate against” free speech, including communications with the press.

Alina Habba, a lawyer for the former U.S. president, said Trump looked forward to holding Mary Trump “fully accountable for her blatant and egregious breach of contract.”

Thursday’s decision upheld a June 2023 ruling by Justice Robert Reed of the state Supreme Court.

Reed also dismissed Trump‘s claims against the Times and three reporters, and in January ordered him to pay $392,639 of their legal fees.

In November 2022, Reed dismissed Mary Trump’s separate lawsuit accusing her uncle and two of his siblings of defrauding her out of a multi-million-dollar inheritance.

The Times’ reporting challenged Trump’s claim that he was a self-made billionaire.

It said he received the equivalent of $413 million from his father, largely the result of “dubious” tax schemes in the 1990s, including undervaluing his family’s real estate holdings. Trump has denied wrongdoing.

Mary Trump, a psychologist, identified herself as a Times source in her 2020 tell-all, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.”