Overview

• Judge Steven D. Merryday of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled the 85‑page filing violated Federal Rule 8 and called it decisively improper and inadmissible.
• The order says a lawsuit is not a public‑relations megaphone or a rally podium, criticizing the complaint’s political rhetoric and self‑praise unrelated to the legal claims.
• Trump’s complaint named Times journalists Peter Baker, Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and Michael S. Schmidt, and targeted articles and the book Lucky Loser while seeking $15 billion in damages.
• The New York Times and Penguin Random House defended their work as accurate and lawful, describing the suit as an effort to chill independent reporting.
• The ruling arrives during a broader campaign in which Trump has filed other high‑dollar media cases and, according to news reports, has pressured broadcasters, including FCC warnings preceding ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show.