Doe et al. v. Trump Corp. et al.

Doe et al. v. Trump Corporation et al. is an ongoing case filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, in October 2018.[3] Multiple plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the Trump Corporation, and Donald Trump and three of his adult children — Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka — alleging racketeering and of fraudulently encouraging unsophisticated investors to give large amounts of money to organizations connected to the Trumps.[4][1][5][6][7]

Doe et al v Trump Corp et al
CourtU.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-09936[1]
Doe et al v Trump Corp et al
Court2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 20-1228, 20-1278[2]

The lawsuit says that Trump "told investors that he had 'experienced the opportunity' and 'done a lot of research,' and that his endorsement was 'not for any money.'"[8] However, it subsequently emerged that Trump was a paid spokesman for at least one of the companies whose products and services he was promoting to investors.[8][9]

The companies named in the lawsuit, but which are not parties, are: ACN, a seller of videophones; the Trump Network, a vitamin marketing company; and the Trump Institute, which ran real estate marketing seminars.[10]

Timeline

2018

In October 2018, the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.[11]

In December 2018, a New York federal court upheld the plaintiffs' right to anonymity.[12]

2019

On 14 January 2019, the Trumps sought to have charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act dropped from the lawsuit.[13]

On 21 February 2019, by which time the plaintiffs had amended their claim, the Trumps sought to have the remaining claims thrown out.[14]

On 19 July 2019, the Trumps notified the court that they intended to compel arbitration,[15][16] based on contracts between ACN and each of the plaintiffs, which includes a clause mandating the resolution of all disputes via binding arbitration. The Trumps are not parties to the ACN contracts, nor is ACN a party to the lawsuit.[17]

On 24 July 2019, Judge Lorna Schofield rejected the plaintiffs' RICO claims, but kept alive many or all of the remaining claims in the lawsuit.[18][19][20] She rejected the motion, and rebuked the Trumps’ behavior which she denounces as “substantively prejudicial towards Plaintiffs and seeks to use the [Federal Arbitration Act] as a vehicle to manipulate the rules of procedure to the Defendants’ benefit and Plaintiffs’ harm.”[21][17]

On 29 August 2019, the Trumps again requested that the court send the case to arbitration.[22]

2020

In March 2020, as part of the discovery process, the Trumps were ordered to provide information from Trump Organization business records for 15 years back to 2005.[23] It was alleged that the Trumps had promoted ACN in exchange for millions of dollars in secret payments from 2005 to 2015.[4]

On 8 April 2020, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield refused to send the ACN case to arbitration, saying the plaintiffs had no reason to believe their arbitration agreements with ACN covered the Trumps and saying that it was unfair for the Trumps to demand arbitration only after she had dismissed the racketeering claim.[16][24]

On 9 April 2020, unaired footage from The Celebrity Apprentice was ruled admissible as evidence.[25][26][27]

On 21 April 2020, the plaintiffs accused the Trumps of attempting to stall the lawsuit.[28]

In May 2020, the Trumps requested a pause in proceedings, to allow them to appeal the decision made in April not to allow them to compel arbitration. On 18 May 2020, a New York federal judge denied this request.[29][30]

On 2 December 2020, the Trumps again attempted, this time in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, to halt the lawsuit and compel arbitration, which is held behind closed doors. The three-judge panel dismissed the application and agreed with Schofield’s conclusion that it was unfair for the Trumps to demand arbitration.[31][32] The plaintiffs’ lawyer repeated their argument that their case was not based on the ACN contract, but on the Trumps’ fraud.[33]

See also

References
  1. Stempel, Jonathan (February 21, 2019). "Trump, adult children urge dismissal of marketing scam lawsuit". Reuters. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  2. "Trumps Want Court to Approve Arbitration for Marketing Fraud Lawsuit". Insurance Journal. December 2, 2020.
  3. https://www.classaction.org/media/doe-et-al-v-the-trump-corporation-et-al.pdf
  4. Orden, Erica (October 19, 2018). "New lawsuit claims Trump, children made millions off investment scams". CNN. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  5. Haberman, Maggie; Weiser, Benjamin (October 29, 2018). "Trump Persuaded Struggling People to Invest in Scams, Lawsuit Says". The New York Times. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  6. Larson, Erik; Nasiripour, Shahien (October 29, 2018). "Trump and His Children Accused of Investment Scams in Lawsuit". Bloomberg News. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  7. Larson, Erik (December 3, 2018). "Trump Twitter Tirades Prompt Litigants to Seek Anonymity in Suit". Bloomberg News. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  8. Dzhanova, Yelena. "Inside Trump's ties to the multi-level marketing company that gave him $8.8 million when he was approaching financial ruin". Business Insider.
  9. Maremont, James V. Grimaldi and Mark (August 13, 2015). "Donald Trump Made Millions From Multilevel Marketing Firm" – via www.wsj.com.
  10. Levin, Bess. "Of Course Trump Hawked Get-Rich-Quick Schemes to Poor People". Vanity Fair.
  11. "Trump Accused Of Conning Thousands Into Bogus Deals - Law360". www.law360.com.
  12. "Trump Fraud Accusers Can Stay Anonymous, Judge Says - Law360". www.law360.com.
  13. "Trump Looks To Kill Racketeering Fraud Suit Against Kids, Co. - Law360". www.law360.com.
  14. "Trump, Kids Say Changes To Racketeering Suit Don't Fix It - Law360". www.law360.com.
  15. "How Trump Has Used A Secretive Justice System To Keep Lawsuits Against Him Quiet". BuzzFeed News.
  16. Staff, C. P. R. (April 23, 2020). "NY Federal Judge Rejects Trumps' Motion to Compel Arbitration".
  17. NY Federal Judge Rejects Trumps’ Motion to Compel Arbitration
  18. "Trump, Kids Must Face Fraud Suit Trimmed Of RICO Claims - Law360". www.law360.com.
  19. Stempel, Jonathan (July 25, 2019). "Trump must face marketing scam lawsuit, escapes racketeering claims: NY judge" – via www.reuters.com.
  20. Voytko, Lisette. "Judge Rules Trump Can Be Sued For Marketing Scheme Fraud". Forbes.
  21. Jane Doe, et al. v. Trump Corp., et al., 18 Civ. 9936 (LGS) at 15.
  22. "Trump Seeks to Move Video Phone Fraud Suit Into Arbitration". August 30, 2019 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  23. Jacobs, Shayna (March 14, 2020). "Trump ordered to expand document search in suit alleging he endorsed pyramid scam". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  24. Stempel, Jonathan (April 9, 2020). "Trump family loses bid to move marketing scam lawsuit to arbitration" – via www.reuters.com.
  25. "'Apprentice' Outtakes Relevant In Fraud Suit Against Trump - Law360". www.law360.com.
  26. "MGM Ordered to Deliver Unaired 'Apprentice' Footage in Marketing Scam Lawsuit Against Trumps | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com.
  27. Patten, Dominic (April 10, 2020). "Donald Trump & MGM Strike Out Blocking Release Of 'Apprentice' Tapes; Ordered By Judge In Scam Suit".
  28. "Trumps' Latest 'Stall Tactic' Should Be Rejected, Investors Say - Law360". www.law360.com.
  29. "Pyramid scheme fraud suit against Trump and his family to go ahead". The Independent. May 19, 2020.
  30. http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2020/images/05/19/opinion.trump.corporation.lawsuit.pdf
  31. Stempel, Jonathan (December 2, 2020). "Trump family urges U.S. appeals court to move marketing scam lawsuit to arbitration" – via www.reuters.com.
  32. "Trump Lawyers Accused of Legal 'Gamesmanship' in Attempts to Keep Alleged Pyramid Scheme from Public Trial". www.msn.com.
  33. "Trump lawyer asks federal appeals court to send lawsuit over alleged pyramid scheme to arbitration". www.msn.com.
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