Overview

• U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday in Florida dismissed the complaint as excessively prolix and procedurally improper.
• The ruling does not address the merits of the defamation claims and invites a shorter, compliant complaint limited to 40 pages.
• Trump's suit targets the New York Times, four of its journalists, and Penguin Random House over reporting and the book Lucky Loser.
• The journalists named include Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker, and Michael S. Schmidt, whom Trump accuses of a years-long campaign to discredit him.
• Merryday wrote that a civil complaint is not a megaphone for public relations, as Trump pursues other high-value media suits, including a July case against the Wall Street Journal seeking at least $10 billion.