A New York judge threw out Mary Trump’s lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, saying her claims are barred by an earlier settlement she reached more than 20 years ago.
Mary Trump, the former president’s niece, had alleged in the lawsuit that she was defrauded of millions of dollars in a 2001 family settlement.
In 2020, Mary Trump sued Donald Trump; his sister Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired judge; and the executor of her late uncle Robert Trump’s estate, alleging “they designed and carried out a complex scheme to siphon funds away from her interests, conceal their grift, and deceive her about the true value of what she had inherited.”
Mary Trump alleged the full nature of the alleged fraud only came to light after The New York Times in 2018 published an article titled “Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Scheme as He Reaped Riches From His Father,” which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. Mary Trump provided the reporters with 19 boxes of records that she obtained through the 2001 settlement.
In an appeal filed Wednesday in New York, Mary Trump’s lawyers said the New York Supreme Court judge made several errors, including misapplying the law and “misconstruing” the terms of the 2001 settlement.
“The Supreme Court erred by misstating and/or misapplying the applicable legal standard requiring that a release have been knowingly and fairly made in order to later be enforced with respect to claims that were unknown at the time of the release, including fraud claims,” the filing states.
During a hearing in January, lawyers for both Mary Trump and Donald Trump sparred over whether her lawsuit could move forward.
The lawsuit’s dismissal is the second legal victory for the former president this week, after a retaliation lawsuit by Michael Cohen was dismissed by a federal judge on Monday. Cohen, a former personal attorney for Donald Trump, had alleged that Donald Trump, former Attorney General William Barr and others put him back in jail to prevent him from promoting his upcoming book while under home confinement.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Chandelis Duster contributed to this report.