Judge dismisses Trump's NYT defamation suit for procedural flaws

A federal judge on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s US$15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, saying the sprawling filing violated basic court rules and read more like a political screed than a succinct legal complaint. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday in Florida dismissed the 85‑page suit days after it was filed and gave Trump’s lawyers 28 days to submit an amended complaint that complies with procedural requirements.

The original complaint, filed Monday in federal court, named The New York Times, four of its reporters and publisher Penguin Random House, and focused on several articles and a book by Times reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner. The suit alleged the reporting was part of a decadeslong, intentional pattern of defamation against Trump and asserted the defendants published false statements negligently, knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth, according to court papers and media accounts.

In a sharply worded four‑page order, Judge Merryday said the filing “consumes eighty‑five pages” while alleging only two counts of defamation and repeatedly veered into “vituperation and invective.” He wrote that a complaint is not...