""As every lawyer knows (or is presumed to know), a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective - not a protected platform to rage against an adversary," wrote Merryday, an appointment of former President George H.W. Bush. "Although lawyers receive a modicum of expressive latitude in pleading the claim of a client, the complaint in this action extends far beyond the outer bound of that latitude.""
""A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally," Merryday wrote in a four-page order. "This action will begin, will continue, and will end in accord with the rules of procedure and in a professional and dignified manner.""
""We welcome the judge's quick ruling, which recognized that the complaint was a political document rather than a serious legal filing," spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said Friday."
U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday dismissed an 85-page, $15 billion defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against The New York Times for containing excessive, irrelevant, and burdensome language. The complaint targeted four Times journalists over a book and three articles published in the two months before the election and delved into Trump's television work and numerous media appearances. Merryday found the first defamation count not until page 80 and criticized the filing as a political document and an improper forum for vituperation. The judge granted Trump 28 days to file an amended complaint not exceeding 40 pages.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]