A U.S. federal judge has dismissed former President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, ruling that the filing did not meet the basic requirements for civil complaints. Judge Steven D. Merryday of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida stated on Friday that the 85-page complaint submitted by Trump’s legal team “unequivocally and inexcusably” violated procedural rules.
He explained that under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a complaint must contain a “short, plain, and direct statement of the facts,” whereas Trump’s submission was, in his words, “inadmissible” and “inappropriate.” Merryday emphasized that a legal complaint cannot serve as a “forum for abuse” or a “megaphone for public relations,” stressing that courts are not venues for political or media campaigns.
Trump had sued The New York Times, several of its reporters, and the publishing house Penguin Random House, seeking $15 billion (approximately €12.69 billion) in damages. In his filing, he described the newspaper as the “mouthpiece of the Democrats” and repeatedly referenced other grievances he has brought against various media outlets. The judge granted Trump’s legal team one month to refile the lawsuit, this time limited to no more than 40 pages.
A spokesperson for Trump said they intend to do so within the new deadline. Media law experts had already assessed the lawsuit as weak when it was initially filed, describing it as more of a public relations maneuver than a case with solid legal merit. Joe Kahn, editor-in-chief of The New York Times, said this week that Trump is “wrong on the facts and wrong on the law” and asserted that the newspaper “will defend itself and will win” if the case proceeds further.
