Illegal business practices suit
New York state’s attorney general Schneiderman files a $40 million lawsuit against Trump and his for-profit investment school, accusing them of engaging in illegal business practices. The suit alleges the Trump Entrepreneur Institute – called Trump University until 2010 – operated without an educational license while misleading consumers into paying for courses promising to teach Trump’s real estate investment techniques. More than 5,000 people nationally took the courses, paying $40 million. The lawsuit seeks restitution of at least $40 million, as well as a disgorgement of profits, penalties and an injunction. Schneiderman:
No one, no matter how rich or popular they are, has a right to scam hard-working New Yorkers.
Sues Univision for $500 million
Trump sues Univision for $500 million in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation, over a $13.5 million contract for broadcast rights to Trump’s Miss Universe Organization pageants. The parties had reached an agreement in January that included the rights to broadcast the Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and the Miss Universe competition from 2015 through 2019. Univision agreed to pay $2.5 million per year until 2017, and $3 million per year for 2018 and 2019, and to make “reasonable efforts” to broadcast it over two to three hours on a Sunday night. Trump says Univision’s’ decision not to broadcast the pageant is politically motivated and an attempt to suppress his freedom of speech:
Nothing that I stated was different from what I have been saying for many years. I want strong borders, and I do not support or condone illegal immigration.
He also says a high-ranking Univision executive called him, claiming that Univision had been “inundated with calls demanding that Univision immediately terminate its relationship” with Trump after his remarks and that they could “no longer sell” the pageant to its sponsors or viewers. Trump also claims the executive apologized to him for pulling the pageant, and that the network had decided to simply pay the Miss Universe Organization its $13.5 million in licensing fees. In a memo to staff Univision CEO Falco denies apologizing to Trump:
I can also assure you that we never apologized because we have nothing to apologize for.
Files suit against Ivana
Trump files a $25 million lawsuit against Ivana, for $25 million, saying she broke a gag clause in their divorce agreement by failing to keep quiet about his affairs. The suit accuses his ex-wife of:
Willful, deliberate and surreptitious disclosure [of his personal, professional and financial dealings].
NYC tenant intimidation suit
The city of New York sues Trump over alleged intimidation and harassment of tenants at his 15-story building at 100 Central Park South, which overlooks Central Park. Trump bought the building in 1981 with the intention of tearing it and the adjacent Barbizon Plaza (which he also owns) and replacing them with another of his mega-luxury towers. The suit says Trump and his agents have tried to force out the 60 or more tenants by threats of imminent demolition, spurious litigation, drastic decreases in essential services, persistent delays in repairing defective conditions, and instructing employees to obtain information about the private lives and sex habits of the tenants.
The defendants have harassed daily the occupants of said units…wrongful acts and omissions continue to date.
Trump claims he is the victim of wily, wealthy millionaire-tenants who are trying to extract exorbitant buyout money or other financial concessions from him.
Trump is not going to be harassed.
Racial discrimination lawsuit
The Justice Department sues the Trump Management Corporation for alleged racial discrimination in 39 of its buildings across New York. The Government says Trump Management has refused to rent or negotiate rentals and required different rental terms and conditions, because of race or color, as well as misrepresenting to blacks that apartments were not available. Donald Trump denies the charges:
They are absolutely ridiculous. We have never discriminated, and we never would. There have been a number of local actions against us, and we have won them all…We proved in court that we did not discriminate.