Trump's Legal Team Appeals Liability Finding in New York Fraud Case

<p>On August 26, 2026, representatives of President Donald Trump filed a brief in the New York Court of Appeals, requesting the court to overturn a liability finding in a $464 million civil fraud case related to Trump's real estate valuations.</p><p>The appeal claims that the case had several legal flaws that should have prevented it from being heard initially.</p><p>"This case should have never been brought, and the judgment cannot stand," the appeal states. "This case is extremely unusual; it involves not only reams of improper statements targeting President Trump, his family, and his businesses, but also a decision to apply [New York law] against those targets in a completely unprecedented and unlawful way."</p><p>This appeal represents another instance of President Trump contesting what he describes as politically motivated legal actions he faced during his two administrations. It also provides Trump with an opportunity to challenge some of the penalties stemming from the verdict.</p><p>In 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump, alleging 200 instances of fraud. Her office claimed that Trump routinely overvalued properties in New York City to secure favorable loans or insurance rates, violating New York Executive Law § 63(12), which mandates the attorney general to prosecute cases of repeated fraudulent or illegal acts.</p><p>The law defines fraud as "any device, scheme or artifice to defraud and any deception, misrepresentation, concealment, suppression, false pretense, false promise or unconscionable contractual provision."</p><p>Trump was found liable in 2023, resulting in a requirement to pay $355 million plus interest in damages and a two-year ban from serving as an officer or director of any New York company.</p><p>Additionally, he was prohibited from applying for loans from any New York bank or financial institution for three years. Although an intermediate appeals court later vacated the monetary award, Trump's lawyers argue that the underlying liability finding and the remaining restrictions should also be overturned.</p><p>The appeal filed on Wednesday challenges the verdict on five key grounds. It argues that Attorney General James lacked the authority to bring the case, emphasizing that it involves private commercial transactions rather than public harm. It also contends that Trump's valuations were subjective estimates independently evaluated by lenders rather than fraudulent misrepresentations.</p><p>"The only supposed 'victims' here are a handful of ultrasophisticated banks and insurers that have never claimed to be injured, were eager to do business with President Trump and his family, and made over $100 million from these transactions," the appeal states.</p><p>The appeal further argues that the prosecution's premise of overvaluation is based on the flawed assumption that real estate has a single objective value, and deviations from that value must constitute fraud.</p><p>"Under that breathtakingly broad theory, NYAG can second-guess any business transaction in this State on almost any imagined grounds," the filing states.</p><p>Regarding the penalties, the appeal claims that the $450 million disgorgement is excessive, unlawful, and potentially unconstitutional.</p><p>Finally, the appeal asserts that the politically charged nature of the case should have been sufficient to halt its consideration. "NYAG cannot point to a single Section 63(12) enforcement action against similarly situated developers (or any other type of defendant) based on practices comparable to those alleged here," the filing states.</p><p>"Ms. James repeatedly called President Trump a 'criminal'; promised to 'investigate President Trump and his business transactions,' 'review ... Trump-related real estate transactions,' and 'take on ... his business in New York'; and threatened President Trump's 'family' and 'anyone in his orbit,'" the document states.</p><p>James' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>