# NY AG Letitia James drops the (civil) hammer {On Trump & Family} \[9/21/2022\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [September 21, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991 "2022-09-21T16:13:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 140
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2782 "2024-03-20T23:33:21Z")
I’m not going to even smirk over this until the appeals are over and NY gets the cash. Then I’m gonna laugh my ass off. Maybe even break open that bottle of Pappy. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2783 "2024-03-20T23:40:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Then I’m gonna laugh my ass off. Maybe even break open that bottle of Pappy. I’m free that day. Just sayin’… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2784 "2024-03-20T23:42:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Maybe even break open that bottle of Pappy. 😲 I had to google that. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2785 "2024-03-20T23:44:51Z")
Unopened bottle of the 12 year old. Last auction sale I’m aware of it fetched $1200+. It will have to be a special occasion. TFG so humbled just might make the grade. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2786 "2024-03-20T23:49:47Z")
All I have is a bottle of Talisker 15 year old, but that will have to do. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2787 "2024-03-20T23:53:17Z")
I’ll just stick to my Fireball. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2788 "2024-03-20T23:55:25Z")
I’ve got a split of champagne waiting in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2789 "2024-03-21T00:05:22Z")
Oban 14 year old single malt here. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2790 "2024-03-21T00:10:25Z")
Following up on the “nobody gets bonds this big” theme, Forbes has produced an article with four examples of billion dollar bonds, disproving Trump’s claims. And to answer a question from several posters in this thread, in some of those cases, the bonding was split up between different companies, to split up the risk. One difference is that the companies seeking the bonds in those four cases were large, publicly traded, companies, not private closely held companies. > **[Trump Claims Companies Won’t Secure His $500 Million Bond—But Even Bigger...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/03/20/trump-claims-companies-wont-secure-his-500-million-bond-but-even-bigger-ones-were-paid-in-these-cases/amp/)** > > The attorney general’s office argued it’s “not unusual” for companies to issue bonds for large amounts, as Trump’s allies claimed. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2791 "2024-03-21T00:13:10Z")
Glenmorangie Cellar 13 First Fill Casks (no longer produced). ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2792 "2024-03-21T00:15:37Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > One difference is that the companies seeking the bonds in those four cases were large, publicly traded, companies, not private closely held companies. I’m guessing another difference is that the companies involved that had to put up assets as collateral were not hit with a judgement based on falsely valuing their assets. This seems like an important factor. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2793 "2024-03-21T00:19:32Z")
John Walker Blue will have to suffice. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2794 "2024-03-21T00:20:29Z")
Sounds like Chubb may have been taking a reputation hit for giving the bond in the Carroll case: > [@](#): > > Privately, Trump had been counting on Chubb, which underwrote his $91.6 million bond to cover the E. Jean Carroll judgment, to come through, but the insurance giant informed his attorneys in the last several days that that option was off the table,” according to CNN. > … > “As the surety, we don’t take sides, it would be wrong for us to do so and we are in no way supporting the defendant. When Chubb issues an appeal bond, it isn’t making judgments about the claims, even when the claims involve alleged reprehensible conduct,” he wrote in a letter on Wednesday, adding that Trump’s bond in the Carroll case was “fully collateralized.” ([https://www.salon.com/2024/03/20/panic-mode-setting-in-after-was-counting-on-chubb-to-put-up-fraud-bond-report/](https://www.salon.com/2024/03/20/panic-mode-setting-in-after-was-counting-on-chubb-to-put-up-fraud-bond-report/)) ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2795 "2024-03-21T00:23:52Z")
I’ve no idea how plausible this is, but, as a pessimist when it comes to stopping the Trump train, I have to post it: [How I’m Helping Donald Trump Post His $557 Million Bond](https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/how-im-helping-donald-trump-post-557-bond) > [@](#): > > Spoiler: The court will not order the seizure of properties belonging to the Republican presidential nominee eight months before the election. That’s not how this court works. It may not be how _any_ court in America works. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2796 "2024-03-21T00:37:27Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Spoiler: The court will not order the seizure of properties belonging to the Republican presidential nominee eight months before the election. That’s not how this court works. It may not be how _any_ court in America works. From the quote, not from Philly Guy] The court isn’t really involved. The State AG takes the judgment and starts collecting. ETA My link isn’t working, but the NYS website says this: > Collection tools: > > - A very important tool to help you collect money or property from the Debtor is called a Transcript of Judgment. This is used when you want to [Make a Judgment Work in a Different Court or County](https://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/AfterCourt/transcriptJudgment.shtml). > - If the Debtor has a bank account: The Creditor can serve a Restraining Notice **signed by the Court Clerk** on the bank to stop the Debtor from withdrawing money. A Restraining Notice can also be used to stop someone who owes money to the Debtor from paying it back until your debt is paid. > - If the Debtor has a job: The Creditor can use an Income Execution to make the Debtor’s boss pay part of the Debtor’s salary to him or her. This is called garnishment. The Creditor fills out an Income Execution form and has it signed by the Court Clerk. Then the Creditor gives the Income Execution to an Enforcement Officer. Read [People Who Collect the Debtor’s Money](https://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/AfterCourt/enforcementOfficer.shtml). > - If the Debtor has land: A **judgment filed in a County Clerk’s Office becomes a lien on the Debtor’s land or land he or she buys in the county**. Having a lien means that the Debtor can’t sell the property without paying the Creditor. > - If the Debtor has personal property, like a car, boat or jewelry: The Creditor can fill out a Property Execution and give it to an Enforcement Officer to use to take the Debtor’s personal property. Read [People Who Collect the Debtor’s Money](https://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/AfterCourt/enforcementOfficer.shtml). > - If someone owes the Debtor money: The Creditor can fill out a Property Execution and give it to an Enforcement Officer to make the person pay the Creditor instead of the Debtor. Read [People Who Collect the Debtor’s Money](https://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/AfterCourt/enforcementOfficer.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2797 "2024-03-21T01:28:09Z")
I only have caffeine free diet soda. But I do find it festive. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2798 "2024-03-21T01:29:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’m not going to even smirk over this until the appeals are over and NY gets the cash. Right? I’m just fucking petrified right now. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2799 "2024-03-21T01:30:24Z")
Exactly. Those are all what are called “ministerial functions” that don’t involve discretion by the clerk. - Is there a judgment? - Is the person filing the document a representative of the judgment creditor? - Is the document filed to enforce the judgment against property owned by the judgment debtor? If the answers to any of those questions (greatly simplified for the purposes of discussion) is “No”, then the clerk doesn’t issue the enforcement document. If the answer is “Yes”, then the clerk issues the enforcement document. If the enforcement document is issued, then the bailiffs (or whatever they’re called in NY), hired by the judgment creditor, go to town to enforce the judgment. It can get back in front of the judge, if the judgment debtor tries to challenge the enforcement. And then the judgment debtor has to point to applicable law, in statutes or case law, that says the enforcement document should be set aside. So where in NY state law is there a provision that says: “No civil judgment shall be enforced against a candidate for President of the United States”? Note that the author of that article doesn’t give any cite, or case, or statute, that supports his conclusion that “the courts” won’t enforce a civil judgment against a presidential candidate. It’s nothing more than his opinion. As for his comment that everything is a negotiation, even in law, there is a some truth to that. The parties can negotiate, can try to reach a settlement, and that settlement might then be monitored by the court. But as one judge, in a case I was on, said to us: “Counsel, this trial is just beginning. It carries substantial risks for both sides. It’s always open to you to try to reach an accommodation. But if you can’t do so and it goes to judgment, I have to follow the law, and one party or the other will likely be badly disappointed.” The parties declined the judge’s encouragement to settle; it went to final judgment; my client lost bigly, just as the judge had warned. And then it was too late to try to negotiate. So we appealed and won. Then it was the other party who lost bigly. Point is, the author of the article is right that there’s lots of room in the law for negotiations. But once it gets to a trial verdict, the room for negotiation is pretty much gone, other than something along the lines of “Would you rather have $10,000 now, or fight me for $100,000, five years from now?” ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2800 "2024-03-21T02:07:53Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Perhaps not coincidentally, they’re among Trump’s favourite properties: Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, Mar-a-Lago, a couple of others. I wonder if he will prove a king of delay on these. Wikipedia says that Trump owns the 40 Wall Street lease, but [Since 1982, the building has been owned by two German companies](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_Wall_Street). I have no idea what I just wrote means, except it sounds like it would make it complex to seize the building. I think Trump Tower is mostly condos that were sold shortly after the building was completed. There must be rules on giving notice before evicting, and ways to appeal, right? I guess that Trump owns his own apartment. I’m going out on a limb and predict he is not going to be evicted before election day. Mar-a lago? Do it’s members, who paid a big up-front fee, have no rights? Trump says he will be a dictator on day 1 of his presidency, and then we supposedly go back to being a representative democracy. If he wins, he will try to get his money back on his dictator day, ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2801 "2024-03-21T02:11:10Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Wikipedia says that Trump owns the 40 Wall Street lease, but [Since 1982, the building has been owned by two German companies](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_Wall_Street). I have no idea what I just wrote means, except it sounds like it would make it complex to seize the building. I wonder if that means the creditor can seize the lease, and either collect the rental income coming in, or sell the lease to someone else for cash. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991.md?page=139) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991.md?page=141)