Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order in Lawsuit to Block Publication of Trump Niece's Book
A Dutchess County Supreme Court justice on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump and her publisher Simon & Schuster from publishing, printing or distributing any portion of her upcoming book about the president.
June 30, 2020 at 01:41 PM
4 minute read
A Dutchess County Supreme Court justice on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump and her publisher Simon & Schuster from publishing, printing or distributing any portion of her upcoming book about the president's family relationships.
Justice Hal Greenwald set deadlines for each side to submit their arguments in the next 10 days, ahead of the scheduled publication of Mary Trump's book, "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," on July 28.
Within hours of the order, attorneys for Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster filed notice that they were appealing to the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department.
The president's brother Robert Trump sued his niece June 26, arguing that a confidentiality agreement associated with the will of Mary Trump's grandfather Fred Trump prevents her from publishing anything about her relationship with the president, Robert Trump or their sister, former Judge Maryanne Trump Barry of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
In a letter to Greenwald on June 26, Robert Trump's attorney Charles Harder argued that publishing lead times meant that bookstores and reviewers could receive copies of Mary Trump's book "any day now." He drew an analogy to the recent case of former national security adviser John Bolton, who was sued by the attorneys in the civil division of the U.S. Department of Justice days before his book's planned release.
"Plaintiff is seeking to avoid the situation presented in the recent case of United States v. Bolton … where the Court held that even though the government had established that Mr. Bolton violated his contractual obligations in publishing his book, no injunction could issue because while the book had not yet been released, it had been distributed and numerous people had access to copies of the book," Harder wrote.
Simon & Schuster is the publisher of both Bolton's book and Mary Trump's, Harder noted.
In their own letters to Greenwald on June 26, Mary Trump's attorney Anne Champion of Gibson Dunn and Simon & Schuster's attorney Elizabeth McNamara of Davis Wright Tremaine argued that Harder's TRO application infringed on Mary Trump's First Amendment rights.
In a statement Tuesday, Theodore Boutrous Jr., also a Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner and a member of Mary Trump's legal team, echoed that argument.
"The trial court's temporary restraining order is only temporary but it still is a prior restraint on core political speech that flatly violates the First Amendment … This book, which addresses matters of great public concern and importance about a sitting president in an election year, should not be suppressed even for one day," he said.
In a statement Tuesday, Harder said Robert Trump is pleased with Greenwald's order.
"The actions of Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster are truly reprehensible," Harder said. "We look forward to vigorously litigating this case, and will seek the maximum remedies available by law for the enormous damages caused by Mary Trump's breach of contract and Simon & Schuster's intentional interference with that contract. Short of corrective action to immediately cease their egregious conduct, we will pursue this case to the very end."
READ MORE:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFrom ‘Deep Sadness’ to Little Concern, Gaetz’s Nomination Draws Sharp Reaction From Lawyers
7 minute readTrump Picks Personal Criminal Defense Lawyers for Solicitor General, Deputy Attorney General
SEC Under Trump 2.0 Likely to Take More 'Measured' Enforcement Approach, Observers Say
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1On The Move: Polsinelli Adds Health Care Litigator in Nashville, Ex-SEC Enforcer Joins BCLP in Atlanta
- 2After Mysterious Parting With Last GC, Photronics Fills Vacancy
- 3Latham Lures Restructuring Partners From Weil, Paul Weiss
- 4Haynes Boone, Hicks Thomas Get Dismissal of $1.3B Claims in 2022 Freeport LNG Terminal Explosion
- 5Immigration Under the Trump Administration: Five Things to Expect in the First 90 Days
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250