Re Curbed link : in fairness it was Rayne who first posted it.

I merely reposted it because xyxyxyxy couldn’t find it.

I had the “bright idea” of précis-ing the essential detail imaging that the summary was a useful digest –

– but as Rayne correctly pointed out, such a summary is problematic in terms of fair use, potentially depriving the author of click through to the cited article, and was of a length and format which perhaps was unhelpful to readers of this site. Fair points all.

I hope my contributions are helpful, and not problematic to moderation which is a necessary and desirable feature of this site — but both of hopes remain a work in progress

Trump has a 30% stake in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, which could be valuable. But he is restricted from selling his interest for another twenty years, which considerably lowers its current market value.

I too wonder what Mar-a-Lago, subject to all its perpetual easments, and without hidden classified documents would bring at a fire-sale!

Trump only owns the ground lease.

It’s almost as if the Trump signage once frequently seen in Manhattan was intended to make even journalists mistake advertising for wealth, ownership, and income.

Trump bought a 99-yr leasehold interest in the ground underneath this property from its German owner. I believe that was in the mid-1990s. It has decades to run. He does not manage or own the building. He gets ground rent. I believe it’s worth in the neighborhood of $200 million, minus the debt Trump apparently has on it.

Yes, “Trump” is shorthand. Like every other large investor, he owns his major assets through controlled legal entities. Handily, the most important of those are also co-defendants in the case before Judge Engoron.

Oh I wasn’t quibbling the use of Trump, and I didn’t intend to seem to correct you on such a footling point. I apologise for appearing so rude.

It was more the conception of ground lease/ leasehold which is I think perhaps apt to confuse (perhaps I am mistaken about that too, and all the readers here are well versed in this aspect of property law)

Assuming Trump does not come up with the bond and the court doesn’t give him more time to come up with a reduced bond, then AG James will have to decide whether to be aggressive in collection with the possibility of forcing him to file Chapter 11 or be more circumspect until all appeals are done. The easiest and lowest risk is to file judgement liens everywhere. This prevents him from liening up property and puts pressure on Trump to enter into settlement negotiations. If NY loses on appeal, aggressive judgment collection will backfire.

And I have read in a few places, that when the sale block on Trump is lifted in six months, he is only allowed to sell 1% of his remaining holding per quarter, presumably to avoid a price crash. Would take him an awful long time to realise any serious money.

And so now we watch to see if they (Trump & sons) are circumspect or gloating…

Yep, no reasoning at all. Thankfully, the decision did not stay appointment of the compliance director or enhancing the authority of the monitor.

Yep, bond reduced to $175 million, and he has another ten days to get it.

The court had discretion to do that, but Trump offered no compelling legal argument for it, other than, “It will ruin me.” I suppose it reduces the odds the Court of Appeals will eventually take the case or decide in Trump’s favor. And it placates the sotto voce concerns of real billionaire developers in Manhattan, who would find the forced sale of a major property unwelcome.

This will still be a major test of Trump’s claims of being a wealthy genius. Absent a sugar daddy, he may not be able to pay for and secure a bond even in the lower amount. I don’t think any single property in NYC is worth that – after paying down the mortgage and costs of sale. The Truth Social thingy isn’t likely to generate anywhere near that much within ten days.

The delay does give the NYAG ten more days to plan her enforcement strategy. Conveniently, Trump is now obligated to run his efforts to obtain a bond – in advance – through the independent monitor. Sad.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/25/trump-fraud-bond-deadline

That position would amount to credulous reliance on an independent monitor, who has no decision-making authority over the Trump businesses.

The full bond requirement is meant to keep the non-appealing party whole during what is often a two-year appeals process. It insulates the winner from the ups and downs of the economy and the loser’s business. A $175 million bond doesn’t do that; neither does a monitor.

The full bond requirement is also meant to reduce the odds a defendant will appeal just to delay payment. A $175 million bond doesn’t promote that interest either.

The lower amount indicates that the Appellate Division thinks the award was too high, but it avoided saying why. That’s a gap it should have avoided.

Yea, the names for NY courts are peculiar. The Appellate Term is an appellate court largely for the plethora of city and county lower courts in Metro NY and Long Island. It’s not the Appellate Division, which handles larger or more important cases from the Supreme Court.

A lot of commentators are screaming about special treatment, as they should. Your house would be on the block if you owed the AG $175,000 and you had only $10,000 in cash. So, it’s a strong indicator these judges think the award was too high.

Trump, of course, claims he’ll promptly provide the bond. Prompt meaning before the ten days run out; he never pays early. That still leaves from where will the money or collateral come.

That amount is probably more then the net value of his biggest NYC property. And he doesn’t want to sell anything. He hasn’t ruled out that the money will come from abroad, which means a mystery donor, whose money would come through a cutout.