A New York appeals court on Monday agreed to hold off collection of former U.S. president Donald Trump’s $454 million US civil fraud judgment — if he puts up $175 million within 10 days.
If he does, it will stop the clock on collection and prevent the state from seizing his assets while he appeals.
The development came just before New York Attorney General Letitia James was expected to initiate efforts to collect the judgment.
Earlier this week, Trump’s lawyers pleaded for a state appeals court to halt collection, claiming it was “a practical impossibility” to get an underwriter to sign off on a bond for such a large sum.
The ruling was issued by the state’s intermediate appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court, where Trump is fighting to overturn a judge’s Feb. 16 finding that he lied about his wealth as he grew the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency.
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Under New York law, filing an appeal generally doesn’t hold off enforcement of a judgment. But there’s an automatic pause if the person or entity posts a bond that covers what’s owed.
The ex-president’s lawyers have said it’s impossible for him to do that. They said underwriters wanted 120 per cent of the judgment and wouldn’t accept real estate as collateral. That would mean tying up over $557 million in cash, stocks and other liquid assets, and Trump’s company needs some left over to run the business, his attorneys have said.
Trump’s attorneys have asked an appeals court to freeze collection without his posting a bond. The attorney general’s office has objected.
The decision came with Trump in a different New York courtroom, for a hearing into a criminal case in which he has been accused of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments related to payments to hide claims of extramarital affairs. One of the payments was made just days after a damaging videotape surfaced late in the 2016 presidential campaign.
The trial, representing one of four criminal indictments the former president faces, had been originally scheduled to start Monday before the judge in the case allowed the defendants more time to prepare for additional documents that only became available in recent weeks.
Trump is the Republican’s presumptive nominee for the presidency for a third consecutive time.