Cushman & Wakefield in Contempt of Court for Failure to Comply With Judge’s Order in Attorney General James’ Investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization

 

Judge Rules that Cushman & Wakefield Must Pay $10,000 A Day Until It Provides Documents to AG's Office Related to Its Work for the Trump Organization

  New York Attorney General Letitia James won a court victory in her office’s ongoing civil investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial dealings with a judge ruling that Cushman & Wakefield is in contempt of court for failing to comply with subpoenas from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). The Honorable Arthur Engoron of the New York County State Supreme Court ruled that Cushman & Wakefield is in contempt of court for failing to comply with his previous orders to provide documents to OAG and imposed a $10,000 fine on Cushman & Wakefield for every day that it continues to violate the court’s order to produce these documents.

“Cushman & Wakefield’s work for Donald Trump and the Trump Organization is clearly relevant to our investigation, and we’re pleased that the court has recognized that and taken action to force Cushman to comply with our subpoenas,” said Attorney General James. “No person or company, no matter how powerful, is above the law.”

On April 8, 2022, OAG filed a motion to compel Cushman & Wakefield to comply with subpoenas related to real estate services Cushman provided for the Trump Organization for many years. Those services included appraisals and brokerage services for Trump Organization properties relevant to OAG’s investigation into the Trump Organization and Donald Trump’s financial dealings. Cushman has refused to comply with subpoenas for information related to its appraisals of three Trump-owned properties — the Seven Springs Estate, Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles, and 40 Wall Street — and information about Cushman’s larger business relationship with the Trump Organization.

On April 25, 2022, Justice Engoron ruled in favor of OAG and ordered Cushman to comply with those subpoenas. Cushman has since failed to fully comply with the judge’s order to turn over documents, and only raised concerns about its ability to comply after the latest deadline.