A judge in New York expressed frustration at Donald Trump’s defense counsel while considering sanctioning the defendants and their lawyers for making frivolous arguments in the state’s civil case against the former president and others.

“When I first heard those arguments, I thought that was a joke,” said Judge Arthur Engoron, who added that he has repeatedly ruled on and been upheld on some of the arguments rehashed by defense.

“The rule on sanctions is if you’ve been warned, don’t do it. You were warned,” Engoron said.

“As a lawyer, I have to make the arguments,” Trump attorney Chris Kise told Engoron.

Kise earlier in the afternoon asked the judge to dismiss the case against Trump and the other defendants.

“What is happening here is what happens every day in complex business transitions,” Kise said about the vast differences in appraisals for Trump’s assets.

When Kise argued that no one was harmed by Trump’s business dealings, Engoron offered a frank assessment.

“The fact that no one was hurt does not mean the case gets dismissed,” Engoron said, adding that he believes that “fairness in the marketplace” was a victim of the defendants’ actions.

  • DogMuffins
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    1 year ago

    Describing Trump as “master at finding value where others do not,” Kise attempted to describe asset valuation as a subjective process.

    This is a ridiculous argument. Appropriate methodologies for determining values are very well established. Any accountant knows this. IFRS 13 deals with the various concepts at length - it’s foundational accounting.

    • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yea but they’re a lawyer not an accountant so I think we let this one slide … /s

    • n0m4n@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I too, am a master at finding value that others miss. I have a living, growing masterpiece of fungal art that I have spent years in creating. It is accruing value by the day and is currently in storage in a temperature controlled, refrigerated vault. For that connoisseur, this a truly one of a kind art, and beyond price, but if I have to put a number on it, it cannot possibly go to market less than a tree-fitty, two comma,USD amount. This is only one, of a full collection, BTW.