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Donald Trump Was Finally Served After Being Accused Of Running Away From His Massive Fraud Lawsuit In New York

October 19, 2022 by Marissa Matozzo
shefinds | News

Last month, New York attorney general Letitia James made headlines after she sued the Trump Organization. She accused twice-impeached former president Donald Trump and his eldest three children of engaging in “staggering” fraud for 1o+ years.

As reported by Business Insider, the disgraced billionaire, 76, and his son Eric, 38, finally got served last week with the 220-page, $250 million fraud case. This, the publication adds, was after a court order, and 3 weeks of the Apprentice alum seemingly attempting to run away from the lawsuit and trying to prevent being served.

 


According to James and her office’s court filing last week, Donald’s lawyer Alina Habba and Eric’s attorney Clifford Robert never responded to emails that were originally sent to them on September 21st (the day the suit was unveiled), that asked them to confirm that they were indeed the correct people to serve. As Vanity Fair‘s Bess Levin writes, “if you’re wondering whether it’s standard practice for legal representatives to dodge suits on behalf of their clients, it’s not.” Additionally, Insider notes that lawyers for “all of the suit’s other defendants, including Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., had…quickly accepted service.”

The silent treatment from the father-son duo came despite Habba and Robert “having submitted notices to the court in late September,” Insider adds, called “notices of appearance,”  which effectively declared themselves to be attorneys of record for the case. This led James’ office to accuse Trump’s side of “gamesmanship,” and the attorney general pursued a court order that would let her simply email the papers to both Habba and Robert.

 


The Manhattan judge handling the case— New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron— quickly agreed, and ruled last Thursday, October 13th, that emailing the papers to the two attorneys would be sufficient as service to both Trumps. According to James’ office’s filing, she sent those emails that same day.

 


Engoron set Monday, October 31st as the official date for oral arguments in the lawsuit’s next dispute. The two sides will argue over James’ claim that the Trump Organization is, as Insider writes, “so rife with ongoing fraud that it’s in immediate need of an independent financial monitor to be appointed and overseen by the judge.”

Another early dispute, the outlet notes, concerns Engoron himself. He, after all, is the same judge who back in April found Donald Trump in contempt of court for not fully complying with James’ subpoenas in the two-year lead-up to her filing suit. Habba has since asked that the lawsuit be transferred out of Engoron’s courtroom. This means it would be handled by any judge in Manhattan’s commercial division instead, which Insider writes is “tasked with complex business disputes.”

 

Author:

Staff Writer

Marissa is a Brooklyn-based culture journalist and staff writer at SheFinds, covering edgy celebrity style, timeless beauty trends, lifestyle and entertainment news. Her coverage of indie music, NYC fashion, underground and pop culture is featured in PAPER Magazine, Paste Magazine, The Knockturnal, Bandsintown and more. You can reach her at [email protected]

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