An analysis by USA Today published in June 2016 found that over the previous three decades, Trump and his businesses have been involved in 3,500 legal cases in U.S. Federal courts and state court, an unprecedented number for a U.S. Presidential candidate. 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
Trump was named in at least 169 suits in federal court. A number of other cases (over 150) were in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (covering Broward County, Florida) since 1983.
Trump was named in at least 169 suits in federal court. A number of other cases (over 150) were in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (covering Broward County, Florida) since 1983.
The topics of the legal cases include contract disputes, defamation claims, and allegations of sexual harassment and rape. 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. On a number of occasions, Trump has threatened legal action, but did not ultimately follow through.
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]," and in the real estate industry, litigation to enforce contracts and resolve business disputes is indeed common. Trump has, however, been involved in more litigation far more than fellow real-estate magnates; the USA Todayanalysis 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.
The Trump lawsuits have attracted criticism from Trump's opponents, who say that this is not a trait that conservatives should support. 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."
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 injuryclaims arising from injuries at Trump properties), with settlements ranging as high as the hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars .
Among the most well-known Trump legal cases are the ongoing litigation over Trump University, which is the subject of three ongoing lawsuits – one by the New York State Attorney General and the others by class action plaintiffs.
According to the USA Today analysis, "Among those cases with a clear resolution, Trump's side was the apparent victor in 451 and the loser in 38. In about 500 cases, judges dismissed plaintiffs' claims against Trump. In hundreds more, cases ended with the available public record unclear about the resolution."
Trump as plaintiff or defendant
- 1980s
In 1985, Trump was sued for allegedly trying to force out tenants to enable demolition, but the matter was settled and the demolition cancelled.In 1988, Trump paid $750,000 to settle the civil penalties in an antitrust lawsuit stemming from stock purchases.
- 1990s
In 1991, a business analyst predicted that the Trump Taj Mahal would soon fail, and he then lost his job; the analyst sued Trump for allegedly having an unlawful role in the firing, and that matter was settled confidentially out of court. After a helicopter crashed, killing three executives of his New Jersey hotel casino business, Trump sued the manufacturers, and that case was dismissed. Trump Plaza was fined $200,000 for moving African-American and female employees away from a racist and sexist gambler to accommodate him, but Trump was not evidently investigated, nor held personally liable, and said he would not even recognize that gambler. In 1991, Trump's father, Fred Trump, made an unlawful loan to Trump's Castle to help it make a mortgage payment, and the casino was required to pay a $30,000 fine, but his son was not penalized.
In 1993, Trump sued his business partner Jay Pritzker for allegedly collecting excessive fees, and the matter was settled. Boarding house owner Vera Cokingsued for damage during construction of an adjacent casino, and later dropped the suit against Trump while settling with his contractor; she also prevailed against Trump and other developers in an eminent domain case.
In 1997, Donald Trump and rival Atlantic City casino owner Stephen Wynn engaged in an extended legal conflict during the planning phase of new casinos Wynn had proposed to build, and the cases were settled.
- 2000s
In 2000, Trump was charged with lobbying for government rejection of proposed casinos that would compete with his casinos, and he paid $250,000 to settle resulting fines. The charges related to a proposed Native American-run casino in the Catskills, New York, which would have competed with three of Trump's casinos in Atlantic City.
When the Securities and Exchange Commission charged one of his companies with poor financial reporting, Trump's attorney said the culprit had been dismissed, and that Trump had personally been unaware of the matter. Following litigation with Leona Helmsley that started in the 1990s regarding control of the Empire State Building, Trump in 2002 sold his share in that building to rivals of Helmsley's.
In 2004 Trump sued former business partner Richard Fields for allegedly saying he still consulted for Trump. Fields counter-sued, and the lawsuit was dismissed.
The town of Palm Beach, Florida fined Trump for building an 80-foot (24-meter) pole for the American flag at his Mar-a-Lago property. Trump then sued, and a settlement required Trump to donate $100,000 to veterans' charities, while the town agreed to let Trump enroll out-of-towners in his social club and permitted a 10-foot shorter flag pole elsewhere on his lawn.
When the California city of Rancho Palos Verdes, California thwarted luxury home development on a landslide-prone area owned by Trump, he sued, and the city agreed to permit extensions for some 20 more proposed luxury homes.
Trump sued a law firm he had used, Morrison Cohen, for using his name, for providing news links at its website, and for charging excessive fees, after which the firm halved the fees, and the court ruled that the links were allowable.
In 2009, Trump was sued by investors in the canceled Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico; Trump said he had merely been a spokesperson, and he settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
In 2004, the Trump Organization licensed the Trump brand to a hotel and condo project in Fort Lauderdale scheduled to open in 2007,
Trump personally guaranteed $40 million to secure a $640 million loan for Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. When Deutsche Bank tried to collect it, Trump sued the bank for harming the project and his reputation, and the bank then agreed to extend the loan term by five years.
- 2010s
In 2015, Trump's claim that the Scottish Government improperly approved a wind-farm project near his golf course and planned hotel was rejected by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, following a lengthy legal battle.
In July 2015, Trump sued the former Miss Pennsylvania, Sheena Monnin, after she alleged that the Miss USA 2012 pageant was rigged. A federal judge upheld the settlement, obliging her to pay Trump $5 million.
Trump sued Palm Beach County for pressuring the FAA to direct air traffic over his home . He also sued chefs Geoffrey Zakarian and José Andrés; the latter said there was no merit in Trump's allegation that the chef backed out of a deal at the Old Post Office Pavilion.
Trump sued the town of Ossining, New York over the property tax valuation on his golf course there, after separately being sued for modifying a drainage system that allegedly damaged a library, public pool, and park facilities.
In connection with a Trump presidential campaign event at Trump Tower in New York City, five men sued Trump, whose security staff allegedly punched one of them.
Deborah Garcia, a restaurant worker at Trump SoHo in New York City, claimed that the Trump Organization illegally withheld tips from employees, while the Trump Organization advised her to instead sue their alleged employer, a third-party contractor.
