Donald Trump: Classic or Dud?

CPLR 2502 (a) permits only two types of sureties: "1. an insurance company authorized to execute the undertaking within the state" or an individual. Without doubt, even though the bonds here may be valid and binding and insure against the risk specified, Athens is not "authorized to execute [the bonds] * * * within the state". Therefore, as plaintiff contends, the bonds at issue here are invalid.

New York City v. Britestarr Homes, 150 Misc. 2d 820, 827 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1991)

believe it when i see it

https://bsky.app/profile/toobigtofail.bsky.social/post/3kpd2judhsl2n

yeah it seems super fishy

caek (or ?), could you c/p the content from the bsky ?

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"Here's the appellate docket on Trump's case (this is only viewable by NY lawyers so I can't link to this docket); unless a docket number 1708, motion for emergency relief to accept a deficient bond, pops up... uh, sooner than later... James can start collecting at 12:01 a.m."

doesn't trump have that court-appointed monitor for all his financial dealings now? wouldn't that include bond stuff? making sure that he was on the up and up.

that Too Big to Fail poster on bsky is citing statues so i would trust them

meanwhile in Fulton County, Trump's motion to dismiss on 1st amendment grounds has been denied

What a surprise.

Looks like AG James has filed an objection to the bond!

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=s4dpZ_PLUS_u0rxLM_PLUS_xsccBGwbw==

Dunno, caek, seems like something could be up.

eh maybe. the one thing we know is up is this adds a delay.

doesn't trump have that court-appointed monitor for all his financial dealings now?

Yes:

Donald Trump's https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-bond-arthur-engoron-new-york-fraud-trail-manhattan-insurance-company-188676875m Bond Rejection Raises Questions

The Trump Organization's court-appointed monitor, Barbara Jones, likely has all the answers, MSNBC legal analyst, Lisa Rubin, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"I can think of a courtroom full of journalists, as well as a bunch of lawyers in the New York Attorney General's office, who would love to know what Barbara Jones presumably knows right now," Rubin said.

Correct link

From Bluesky:

Ok, let's dig in to this bond issue on the Trump appeal to see whether Tish James might actually, finally, be able to start siezing assets tomorrow. I have no idea if this link will work, but this is the copy of the bond on file with the First Department.

PDF of the bond

For some background on the operative statutes:
CPLR § 5519 allows for stay of enforcement of a money judgment on appeal when "and an undertaking in that sum is given."
CPLR § 2501 defines "undertaking" as an: "obligation... which contains a covenant by a surety to pay the required amount."

CPLR § 2502 defines "surety" as: "1. an insurance company authorized to execute the undertaking within the state, or 2. a natural person... who shall execute with the undertaking his affidavit setting forth... that he is domiciled within the state and worth at least the amount specified"

None of the people helping Trump with his bond are New York domiciliaries, and none of them are pledging their own individual money, so (2) is out the window, leaving (1). Now, Knight Insurance Company is not "an insurance company authorized to execute the undertaking within the state," for starters

Taking the bond at face value, Knight has on hand surplus cash assets of $138,441,671... notably, less than the $175 million that they issued the bond for. Meaning that they can't actually pay the bond if Trump loses, meaning that even if a court were inclined to accept the deficient bond, it can't.

Knight is claiming that it's authorized to issue the bond as a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurance can be sold by unlicensed, foreign insurers in New York... but, notably, it does not comply with CPLR § 2502's requirements, so whether Knight can sell surplus lines is irrelevant.

Additionally, the language in the bond is completely wrong. Knight claims to "undertake" that if the judgment is upheld in whole or in part, Defendants will pay $175,000,000 to the State of New York. That's not how it works - Knight has to guarantee that ~it~ will pay that amount.

In short - none of this works; the bond is defective; the attempt to cure it today was defective; and Trump has not as yet filed any kind of emergency motion with the First Department to accept the bond... which he has another 11 1/2 hours to do before Tish James can start collecting.

Additionally, the language in the bond is completely wrong. Knight claims to "undertake" that if the judgment is upheld in whole or in part, Defendants will pay $175,000,000 to the State of New York. That's not how it works - Knight has to guarantee that ~it~ will pay that amount

lol what is this whole thing just fake

can we just seize a few assets, as a treat?

I will personally paypal Ned $5 if there are any actual IRL consequences in the next 7 days.

Hell I have no idea either way. I'm just here for the documentation.

it's definitely a delay tactic, but it does not seem very successful

Don't worry, Jared should arrive from Dubai any minute with a trunk full of cash.

She has given them 10 days to fix things, per her objection posted above by Ned. (As i understand it?)

What? Trump posted something fraudulent?

xpost Apparently that's standard enough. (Though I am amused that this almost runs the clock now to his Manhattan criminal case, so we're Groundhog Daying this whole thing.)

Roffle, THIS'll be funny.

In Trump's civil fraud case, Justice Engoron schedules a hearing later this month on the sufficiency of the surety bond. pic.twitter.com/yLBAKyele3

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 4, 2024

A week after the criminal case starts so I'm sure Trump'll be in a happy mood.

OK, I extend my generous bet to include any IRL consequences within the month of April

actually it's not a bet b/c u have zero obligation, but you get the idea

Time will tell!

Trump apparently misunderstood what "word is bond" means

Also per the comment above re what Barbara Jones might have access to as the Trump Org monitor, James just filed this with Engoron; per a Bluesky summary:

NY AG Letitia James wants the independent monitor to investigate whether Trump et al. “withheld relevant and responsive” information from prosecutors during the civil-fraud case

Maybe nothing will turn up. Buuuuut.

A lot of it has to do with Weisselberg and his own recent guilty plea, which is fun. But also this, which strikes me as technical though helpful in terms of 'hey if we need any info we'd like to be able to get it, very clearly':

On behalf of the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”), we write regarding the Monitorship Order entered March 21, 2024 (NYSCEF No. 1706). Specifically, we write to ask for two modifications to the Monitorship Order: first, we ask that the Monitorship Order be amended to explicitly authorize the Monitor to share information, ex parte, with any party; and second, we ask that the Monitor be directed to investigate certain issues surrounding the recent perjury plea by defendant Allen Weisselberg. On the first issue, explicit authorization to share information on an ex parte basis, this would merely conform the post-trial Monitorship Order to the pre-trial Supplemental Monitorship Order entered on November 17, 2023 (NYSCEF No. 194). That earlier order provided that “The Monitor is authorized to engage in ex parte communications with the Court and any party.” Id. at 2. While the Monitorship Order does not preclude such communications, we believe that out of an abundance of caution, the provision should be added.

this is starting to make me a little dizzy...

It would seem weird to hire a third party observer to keep an eye on Trump's secret tomfoolery and allow her to further keep those secrets.

we can't question the Wallwatchers though #onethread

Who watches the wallwatcher men?

>>It would seem weird to hire a third party observer to keep an eye on >>Trump's secret tomfoolery and allow her to further keep those secrets.

Yr not wrong but our Big Boy's whole thing is doing stuff in dark alleys if the 3rd Party Observer literally didn't see it because the money is coming in envelopes by underground courier systems then... moar crimes i guess!

There it is:

Rep Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Rep Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) introduce bill to change the name of the federal prison in Miami, Florida to the Donald J. Trump Federal Correctional Institution

Days after House GOP members offered bill to rename Dulles Airport for Trump

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 5, 2024

LOL

If assholes could fly this place would be Trump International Airport

Nobody deserves a TIA more than he.

i am so happy his stock is tanking. it's giving me hope

i am so happy his stock is tanking. it's giving me hope

i am so happy his stock is tanking. it's giving me hope

dang a little too much hope sorry

We need that much hope though

yes that's a good amount of hope tbh

3 hopes

minimum

Trump gave us all hoerpes.

hopey changey