A short excerpt from yesterday's 15K-word opinion by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil (S.D.N.Y.) Friday in Wolff v. Trump:
In this case, a chronicler of the First Family sues the First Lady because she threatened to sue him for defamation. While Plaintiff and the First Lady have a real dispute, they must litigate it according to the same procedures as everyone else.
Plaintiff asks for a declaration that, if the First Lady sues him, he deserves to win. That is not how the federal courts work. He also contends that he should not be in federal court at all. But, while it may have started in state court, this case was properly removed. Plaintiff and the First Lady are citizens of different states, and the lawsuit she threatened seeks a billion dollars in damages.
There are many features of this case that make it complicated: the prominence of the personalities involved, the scandalizing content of the underlying statements, and, frankly, an inappropriate level of tactical gamesmanship. But the outcome is simple. The Court will not be conscripted to oversee an abusively presented spat and so declines to reach the merits here….
From the Complaint, here are Melania Trump's allegations of what statements are defamatory (the emphasis appears to originate in her demand letter):
