Key Takeaways:
A federal judge gave President Donald Trump until Aug. 27 to amend his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, keeping the case alive after the newspaper moved to dismiss it.
US District Judge Steven D. Merryday in Tampa deferred ruling on the Times' motion to toss the suit and instead ordered Trump's legal team to file a revised complaint by Aug. 27, according to an order signed Monday. The Times will then have three weeks to file a "succinct" response.
"The Failing New York Times, after 10 years of harassment, slander, and libel, just failed again in their desperate attempt to have our powerful Defamation Lawsuit against them dropped," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, calling the ruling a victory.
Merryday, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, held oral arguments last week in Tampa on the newspaper's dismissal request. Lawyers for the Times argued the suit lacked evidence of wrongdoing, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Trump filed the $15 billion suit against the Times, multiple reporters and book publisher Penguin Random House in September 2025, alleging the paper defamed him with false statements about his business reputation and attempted to "sabotage" his 2024 presidential campaign. The suit centers on three Times articles published before the 2024 election and the book "Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success."
Merryday threw out the original 85-page complaint that same month, calling it "a public forum for vituperation and invective" and ordering Trump to refile with "simple, concise, and direct" claims under 40 pages. Trump filed a revised version in October 2025, and the Times moved to dismiss that complaint for failing to state a claim.
The judge's latest order allows the amended complaint to exceed the previous 40-page limit as long as it "comprises factual allegations consistent with the applicable rules."
The suit is one of several Trump has filed seeking billions in damages from media outlets and financial institutions. The Wall Street Journal and the British Broadcasting Corp. have also moved to dismiss defamation lawsuits filed by Trump, raising similar arguments about an alleged lack of evidence.
For the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT), the continuation of the litigation creates legal overhang and potential financial liability. The company faces mounting legal costs from defending against the suit, which alleges the newspaper acted with "actual malice" and served as a "mouthpiece" for Democrats. NYT shares could face downward pressure from the uncertainty surrounding the case's trajectory and potential settlement costs.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
