n June 2016,
USA Today published an analysis of litigation involving
Donald Trump, which found that over the previous three decades Trump and his businesses have been involved in 3,500 legal cases in
U.S. federal and
state courts, an unprecedented number for a
U.S. presidential candidate.
[1] Of the 3,500 suits, Trump or one of his companies were plaintiffs in 1,900; defendants in 1,450; and
bankruptcy, third party, or other in 150.
[1] Trump was named in at least 169 suits in federal court.
[2] Over 150 other cases were in the
Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (covering
Broward County, Florida) since 1983.
[3] In the 1,300 cases where the record establishes the outcome, Trump settled 175 times, lost 38, won 450, and had another 137 cases end with some other outcome. In the other 500 cases, judges dismissed plaintiffs' claims against Trump.
[1]
The topics of the legal cases include contract disputes, defamation claims, and allegations of sexual harassment. Trump's companies have been involved in more than 100 tax disputes, and on "at least three dozen" occasions the
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has obtained
tax liens against Trump properties for nonpayment of taxes.
[1] On a number of occasions, Trump has threatened legal action but did not ultimately follow through.
[4]
Of Trump's involvement in the lawsuits, his lawyer Alan Garten said in 2015 that this was "a natural part of doing business in [the United States]",
[4][5] and in the
real estate industry, litigation to enforce contracts and resolve business disputes is indeed common.
[4] Trump has, however, been involved in far more litigation than fellow real-estate magnates; the
USA Today analysis in 2016 found that Trump had been involved in legal disputes more than
Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.,
Donald Bren,
Stephen M. Ross,
Sam Zell, and
Larry Silverstein combined.
[1]
The Trump lawsuits
[4][5] have attracted criticism from Trump's opponents, who say that this is not a trait that conservatives should support.
[4] James Copland, director of legal policy at the conservative-leaning
Manhattan Institute, states that "Trump clearly has an affinity for filing lawsuits, partly because he owns a lot of businesses" and has sometimes used litigation as a "bullying tactic".
[4]
Although Trump has said that he "never" settles legal claims, Trump and his businesses have settled with plaintiffs in at least 100 cases (mostly involving
personal injury claims arising from injuries at Trump properties), with settlements ranging as high as hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars
[1] and recently as high as tens of millions of dollars.
[6]
Among the most well-known Trump legal cases was the
Trump University litigation. Three legal actions were brought alleging
fraud, one by the
New York State attorney general and the others by
class action plaintiffs.
[7] In November 2016, Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle the litigation.
[6]
Contents
Lawsuits 1973–1999[edit]
1970s[edit]
In 1973, Trump was accused by the
Justice Department of violations of the
Fair Housing Act in the operation of 39 buildings. The Department said that black "testers" were sent to more than half a dozen buildings and were denied apartments, but a similar white tester would then be offered an apartment in the same building.
[8] The government alleged that Trump's corporation quoted different rental terms and conditions to blacks and made false "no vacancy" statements to blacks for apartments they managed in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
[9]
Representing Trump,
Roy Cohn filed a counter-suit against the government for $100 million, asserting that the charges were irresponsible and baseless.
[8][10] A federal judge threw out the countersuit, calling it a waste of "time and paper".
[11] Trump settled the charges out of court in 1975 without admitting guilt, saying he was satisfied that the agreement did not "compel the Trump organization to accept persons on welfare as tenants unless as qualified as any other tenant".
[12]
Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Trump's book,
The Art of the Deal, said that the housing case was "a classic example" of Trump being "a counterpuncher": someone accuses Trump of doing something horrible, and he "goes back at them with all guns blazing.... And admits nothing." If Trump loses, he will "declare victory".
[13]
The corporation was required to send a bi-weekly list of vacancies to the
New York Urban League, a civil rights group, and give them priority for certain locations.
[14] In 1978 the Trump Organization again was in court for violating terms of the 1975 settlement; Trump denied the charges.
[8][11][15]
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