Trump Organization wins suit against New York City over golf course contract

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s company on Friday won a lawsuit against New York City over its cancellation of a golf course contract after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The lawsuit filed last June said the contract was improperly terminated by then-New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio’s administration. The Trump Organization has managed the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx borough since it opened in 2015.

In canceling the contract, the city said Trump had a role in inciting the riot and that those actions compromised the golf course’s ability to attract “first-class professional championship golf tournaments.”

In a decision filed on Friday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Justice Debra James wrote that the contract had no requirement that the golf course’s operator attract professional golf tournaments. James vacated a city ruling upholding the contract’s cancellation.

A spokesperson for the New York City Law Department said, “We are disappointed in the Court’s decision, and we are reviewing our legal options.”

The Trump Organization – which operates residences, hotels and golf courses across the world – thanked the court for its “well-reasoned decision based on law and facts” and said it was “thrilled” to continue to operate and manage Ferry Point.

Hundreds of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, interrupting the formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. The rampage came after Trump gave an incendiary speech to his followers, repeating false claims of a stolen election.

The case is separate from the New York state attorney general’s civil probe and a parallel criminal probe by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office into Trump’s business practices. Both investigations focus on whether the company misstated the values of its real estate properties to obtain favorable loans and tax deductions.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the investigations politically motivated.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Will Dunham)