NEW YORK — A New York state appellate judge Friday temporarily blocked the revocation of the Trump Organization’s state business certificates ordered last week when a trial judge found Donald Trump and his company liable for fraud.
Associate Justice Peter H. Moulton’s ruling calls for at least a temporary pause in the start of a receivership process and the dissolution of the Trump Organization and related entities ordered in a Sept. 26 summary judgment decision by New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron. Moulton denied Trump’s emergency request to halt his ongoing civil trial on other fraud claims.
Trump lawyer Christopher Kise argued at an emergency hearing at the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division’s First Department that several entities not named in the lawsuit were ordered dissolved and that it was unconstitutional.
He also said irreparable harm would be done to significant parts of his client’s hospitality, golf resort and real estate businesses if the state shuttered Trump’s entities.
“We are very pleased the First Department upheld New York law and put a halt to any cancellation of business certificates, receivers or dissolution,” Kise said in a statement after the court arguments. “The trial court’s attempt to reach issues, entities and assets beyond the scope of this case has been suspended.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) said in a statement released after court arguments that her office proposed working with the defense to allow more time for compliance with the Engoron order without the need for an appellate court ruling.
“Unsurprisingly, [Trump] is twisting this ruling and falsely claiming victory for a resolution we proposed,” James said.
Moulton’s ruling puts on hold the cancellation of licensing that gives Trump authority to conduct business in New York. Arguments on the merits of those and other restrictions on Trump’s businesses imposed by Engoron will be filed in the coming weeks and evaluated by a full panel.
Under Engoron’s order, a collection of Trump entities are expected to be taken over by a court-appointed receiver and dissolved. Under Friday’s appellate order, the parties must still submit receivership recommendations, which will begin the dissolution process.
Engoron’s decision to shut down Trump entities means Trump’s New York properties, including Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, may ultimately be sold by the receiver.
James sued Trump and other defendants last year for $250 million and for further restrictions on the Trump Organization’s ability to operate in the state.
The first week of the trial in James’s case against Trump, current and former executives, and the company ended Friday. The former president, a Republican candidate for president in 2024, attended the proceedings for three days in a row, holding news conferences in the hallways and claiming he has been unjustly treated.
The trial is expected to determine whether there was intent to commit several crimes by Trump and others while they allegedly engaged in a long-running scheme to deceive lenders and insurance companies. James has argued that Trump, the company and other company operatives committed crimes to obtain better rates in business transactions.
James’s office said in court Friday that it was open to discussing a postponement of the takeover that Engoron ordered but did not believe the defense would ultimately prevail on getting the restrictions overturned.
The trial will continue as scheduled next week. Dozens of witnesses, including Trump, are expected to testify during the trial.