Donald Trump has asked a New York appellate court to end his niece’s efforts to obtain family financial records in an ongoing breach of contract lawsuit that has been stalled by discovery disputes for several months. The president’s legal team filed opposition papers last week, seeking to block Mary Trump’s appeal and move the case toward trial.
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The dispute centers on Mary Trump’s request for Estate Valuation Materials related to her grandfather Fred Trump Sr.’s estate. She argues these documents could prove she was fraudulently induced into signing a 2001 family settlement agreement after being misled about the true value of her inheritance following her grandfather’s death in 1999.
Attorney Michael Madaio, representing the president, told the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division that Mary Trump’s arguments have been denied over and over again. The brief maintained that Reed properly declined to compel discovery that was “not material or necessary” to any viable claim or defense.
Donald Trump originally filed his lawsuit against Mary Trump, alleging she violated a confidentiality provision in the family settlement by providing tax documents to the New York Times and publishing information in her book “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.” The book sold 950,000 copies on its first day and provided a psychological profile of her uncle.
The president’s complaint seeks at least 100 million dollars in damages, claiming his niece conspired with the Times in what he characterized as an insidious plot to expose confidential tax records. The Times published an investigation in 2018 examining Trump’s finances and accusing him of tax schemes related to wealth he received from his father. That exposé won a Pulitzer Prize.
Mary Trump is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr., who died on September 26, 1981, at the age of 42 from a heart attack caused by his alcohol use. She is a clinical psychologist who holds a doctorate from Adelphi University.
Justice Robert Reed has repeatedly denied Mary Trump’s discovery requests. In August, Reed again rebuffed her efforts to compel discovery of the “Estate Valuation Materials,” finding that the documents “clearly and unambiguously released” the president “from unknown claims, including fraud claims”.
Mary Trump appealed but also sought leave to reargue her position. Reed denied that request in August. In October 2024, her lawyers told the appellate court that leaving Reed’s rulings undisturbed would result in significant prejudice, effectively preventing her from pursuing one of her affirmative defenses.
The president’s legal team countered that “Justice Reed correctly declined to compel production since Dr. Trump’s request was based on a flawed legal theory that had been expressly waived by contract, rejected in a prior litigation, and affirmed on appeal.” They argued Reed correctly declined to compel production because her request was based on “a flawed legal theory”.
Background to the family dispute traces to Fred Trump Sr.’s will, which left the bulk of his estate in equal shares to his surviving children while leaving each grandchild 200,000 dollars. Despite legal advice in 1981 to increase the shares for Fred Trump Jr.’s children after his death, Fred Sr. refused to amend the will.
Fred Trump Sr. was diagnosed with mild senile dementia in 1991 and later developed Alzheimer’s disease. When he died in 1999, Mary Trump and her brother Fred Trump III contested the will. They filed suit alleging Donald Trump, Maryanne Trump Barry, and Robert Trump exerted undue influence on their elderly grandfather.
In response to that lawsuit, Donald Trump, Maryanne Trump Barry, and Robert Trump cut off medical insurance for Mary Trump and Fred Trump III, including coverage for Fred III’s son William, who had been diagnosed with epileptic spasms requiring lifetime care. The family had previously paid medical expenses through a foundation established by Fred Sr.
The dispute was settled in 2001 with Mary Trump and Fred Trump III selling their interests in the family real estate holdings. That settlement included a confidentiality provision that forms the basis of Donald Trump’s current lawsuit.
Mary Trump filed her own lawsuit in September 2020 against Donald Trump, Maryanne Trump Barry, and the estate of Robert Trump, alleging they defrauded her of tens of millions of dollars related to her share of the real estate holdings. Donald Trump then filed his countersuit in September 2021.
Mary Trump has published three books examining her family. Following “Too Much and Never Enough,” she released “The Reckoning” in November 2022 and “Who Could Ever Love You” in October 2024. She also hosts a podcast and provides political commentary.
Oral argument on Mary Trump’s appeal appears scheduled for February 2026. At the trial court level, Reed set a series of deadlines last week establishing an August 2026 target date for confirming discovery is complete and the case is ready for trial.
The parties agreed to finish depositions by April 9 and conclude expert discovery and all disclosures by June 2026. They are scheduled to file a Note of Issue confirming the case is trial-ready by August 2026.
The president’s opposition brief argued that Mary Trump’s request for estate valuation materials was based solely on supporting a fraudulent inducement theory that had been denied in prior litigation on several grounds. The brief maintained that Reed properly declined to compel discovery that would serve only to relitigate issues already finally resolved.
Discovery disputes have delayed the case for months, preventing it from moving forward to trial. Trump’s lawyers emphasized that the trial court properly declined to compel discovery that would serve only to relitigate issues already resolved through the 2001 settlement and subsequent court rulings.
The New York Times investigation that sparked part of the lawsuit was published as a 14,000-word exposé titled “Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father.” The investigation was based on over 100,000 pages of documents that allegedly revealed the inner workings of Trump’s financial practices. Mary Trump’s provision of tax documents to the newspaper became central to Donald Trump’s breach of contract allegations against her.