Stormy Daniels Faces $20 Million in Damages in Trump Lawsuit

[pnwmom]

Source: Bloomberg

Stormy Daniels may face more than $20 million in damages for violating a "hush agreement" that requires her to remain silent about an affair she alleges she had with President Donald Trump in 2006 and 2007.

The potential damages against Daniels, an actress in adult films whose real name is Stephanie Cliffords, were disclosed Friday in a filing in federal court in Los Angeles by Essential Consultants LLC, an entity that was set up by Trumps personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, in 2016 to pay her $130,000 in exchange for her silence.

The company moved the lawsuit, filed by Daniels last week in California state court against Trump, to federal court, saying that neither Daniels, Trump nor the LLC are California residents and the amount of damages exceeds the $75,000 limit for a case to proceed in state court. Trump supports the transfer of the case between courts, according to Essential Consultants filing.

It could be a strategic move to intimidate them, said Joseph Rothberg, a lawyer with Brutzkus Gubner Rozansky Seror Weber LLP in Woodland Hills, California. They may be saying, Were not going to make it easy for you.



Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-16/trump-moves-stormy-daniels-lawsuit-to-federal-court

---

The latest court filing here:

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000162-3136-d513-a767-ffbf3e740000

[LisaM]

1. That's overplaying his hand, IMO.

Even most indifferent Americans are going to feel some distaste for such a bullying move.

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. and it is such a tiny hand!

[cstanleytech]

13. He makes up for it with big ties and shoes not to mention large hair pieces.

[a kennedy]

25. And his extremely LARGE mouth.

[cstanleytech]

28. Well of course that to. nt

[KY_EnviroGuy]

55. Bugle mouth, LOL. n/t

.............

[Cha]

58. lol@large hair pieces..

[cstanleytech]

74. It just occurred to me that those tiny hands are why he likes twitter so much as his

fingers are the perfect size to use on a cellphones keyboard.

[djacq]

2. Federal Court + $20 million.... Miss Daniels story must be da bomb

[getagrip_already]

36. several lawyers and prosecutors said on msnbc tonight..

That the $20M number is basically a joke. It amounts to an unconcionable penalty and would be laughed out of court by a judge.

They said any total finding wouldn't exceed a small multiple of the settlement amount.

But she is probably going to get it tossed out.

[Ilsa]

69. Exactly. $130k vs $20m is too inequitable to take

the contract seriously as a fair and equitable contract. You can't claim $20mil in damages when you were only willing to pay out $130k for the NDA.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Too late to squelch the story

It's basically out now. Not sure what $20 million would do to silence that situation.

How do you sue as a fake name in a lawsuit? When you didn't sign it? I'm no lawyer, you let the LLC do it?

[Doodley]

5. How can Cohen sue to stop Stormy telling the truth about an affair that he says didn't happen?

[pangaia]

7. I can not keep up with all this shit...

Now I come to DU for the laughs....




It's become like Comedy Central... I love it...

[Perseus]

8. Well, it seems by filing the lawsuit they are now admitting that it did happen

The law suit is about not staying quiet? Well...that now proves it did happen.

Will the deplorable care? Most probably not, they are most probably celebrating Daniels being sued.

The man-child is taking the USA to the toilet.

[kacekwl]

29. What will come out in court will be

way better than the 60 minutes interview.

[jberryhill]

30. In all likelihood...

If the removal motion is successful, then the next motion will be a motion to seal filings, since the subject matter of the suit relates to an NDA in the first place. In that event, there will be nothing coming out of the court proceeding.

[kacekwl]

32. Yea but you know leaks

can be leaky. I suspect it will be dropped or never see court.

[jberryhill]

37. It's unlikely to be dropped

Whether one believes leaks from federal courts are a good thing or not, I guess depends on one's perspective of how federal courts should function.

As far as claims under the contract go - i.e. the liquidated damages or restraining order are concerned - the court isn't going to do much about that, since substantive claims under the contract are subject to arbitration.

The court's only real issue is Daniels' claim for recission.

[Doodley]

34. And maybe a lot of sex-industry workers have taken him to the toilet or used him as one.

[harun]

65. She took the money not to talk about it. She broke the contract.

[jberryhill]

67. How dare you state the obvious

[Trust Buster]

6. What a pathetic way to recoup the $25 million settlement he had to pay for his Dump University

Fraud.

[Kablooie]

9. If Trump wins the lawsuit won't that free Daniels to say whatever she wants?

And she'll have to talk a lot to make the 20 million.

[Still In Wisconsin]

16. "It was *thiiiiiis* tiny!" (Pinches fingers together) n/t

[vkkv]

10. So, was there an affair or wasn't there SCROTUS ??

Double 'D' vs P.P.





David Dennison vs. Peggy Peterson.. FYI

SCROTUS = Slimey CockRoach Of The United States

[cloudbase]

11. Most people try to avoid jury duty.

For this one, perhaps not.

[cstanleytech]

12. If i never happened and if Donald did not authorize the settlement then how can he sue her?

[Still In Wisconsin]

14. Doesn't he always, though?

This seems like TRUMP's classic M.O., doesn't it?

[TeamPooka]

17. Let the discovery process begin!!! nt

[dembotoz]

18. trump is famous for lawsuits///its how he has gotten away with shit for years

[George II]

19. She's probably laughing hysterically about this, as is her super astute attorney.

[ProudLib72]

20. He didn't sign. NDA is not valid

Give it up sTumpy.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

27. ...stumpy is the best moniker yet! Have u noticed that many have tried, but nothing seems to stick?

Last edited Fri Mar 16, 2018, 11:18 PM - Edit history (1)

My theory as to why one name just doesn't attach to dotard ...such as vile, evil, racist, pervert, pathetic, con, sleazy, crooked, disgusting, indecent, traitor, el feo gringo (Vicente fox'apt name,) jailbird (I heard that one today) and many many more...the reason why just one doesn't attach is because ALL negative adjectives, nicknames or monikers apply to stumpy. EDIT. Found the encompassing adjective for stumpy, just read how McCabe was fired...hell, I take my dog for a walk and all hell breaks out...so in another post, a duer described dumpy and racist sessions as DESPICABLE. DESPICABLE DON!

Hillary Clinton described his ilk, repub voters as deplorables--nothing has come close to that...its perfect--all encompassing.


[Feo: ugly; sinister, evil, rotten inside]

Ps sorry, this may not be the appropriate place/post to address by search for the perfect moniker..

[ProudLib72]

40. sTumpy is the orange menace. He goes by both

But in the context of the Stormy affair, sTumpy seems most apropos.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

45. Aye dios! [OMG, sigh]

... This latest, Stormy Daniel's scandal, the possibility of many other women coming foward, the 20 or so women whom have accused trumpf of sexual assault is not only disgusting, embarrassing-- now wth trumped effort to silence Ms Daniels (and perhaps other women) days before the election ) seems criminal, he seemed to have coerced, threaten her, paid her for her silence. Then the Russia-trumpf gate...this is all amazingly untoward..how this person is president is ...well surreal.

[workinclasszero]

42. Yup

No signature, no case FO Shitler

[jberryhill]

21. How much does a writer for Bloomberg make?

"and the amount of damages exceeds the $75,000 limit for a case to proceed in state court"

Uh, no.

The minimum amount to proceed in federal court on diversity jurisdiction is $75k. That's not an upper amount for CA state court.

Seriously, how much does someone get paid not to have a clue what they are talking about?

[elleng]

22. It could be a strategic move to intimidate them,

ya think???

[trueblue2007]

23. BRING IT ON RUMP !!!!!!

[ET Awful]

24. Don't they realize that by suing and saying she violated the terms of the agreement

x number of times, they're basically saying that what she's saying is true. If it wasn't true, it wouldn't be in violation of the agreement.

[jberryhill]

31. It would if that was an accurate description of what is going on procedurally

But since copy writers for newspapers are generally really bad at understanding court filings, I suppose one might get that impression.

The lawsuit was filed by Daniels in an attempt to rescind the contract under which the defendants in her lawsuit apparently obtained an arbitration award.

This filing is a motion to remove Daniels' suit from state court to federal court, on the basis that it qualifies for federal court jurisdiction.

When a lawsuit is filed by A against B, it's not like B just sits around and defends. B can file counterclaims in the suit against A, if B also has some basis for claims against A.

[ET Awful]

35. From what I understand, their suit against her is based on $1 million dollars for each time she

allegedly violated the terms of the agreement. They are saying that she violated the agreement 20 times, thus the $20 million claim. For example:

"In Cohen's filing, the lawyer said he will seek $20 million from Daniels, or $1 million per breach of the "hush agreement" she signed in 2016." (from a Rolling Stone article on the subject).

[jberryhill]

39. Yeah, and?

The actual filing is linked above, so there isn't any need to refer to noted legal journal Rolling Stone.

The confidentiality provisions of the contract include any mention of the existence of the contract itself. It further includes any statements caused to be made or authorized by her. For example, that would include each time her attorney has made a statement on her behalf in his busy media docket in the case.

[lordsummerisle]

26. And still the Evangelicals won't be fazed by this... n/t

[getagrip_already]

38. they ain't heard nothing yet...

apparently she talks about trump being an s&m sub, liking humiliation. She also knows about group sex get togethers. And there are 6 others she can name....

and so much more. evangelicals will have a lot of bitter pills to swallow.

[Doodley]

33. If Stormy has a detailed description of his manhood, he may have to display it in court.

[Cha]

59. Show us the long form! ..

.. oh wait.

Sorry. lol

[Ilsa]

66. Get a ruler. Yes, trump opened the door to this personal invasion by claiming

during the campaign that his was bigger than Rubio's. They brought it up. Drop trou and get a ruler!

[Turbineguy]

41. That's why they are trying to move to the Federal Court

where the loser can be socked with all the court costs. This is one of the few things trump actually knows.

[getagrip_already]

43. brian williams floated the idea...

That the trump camp is actually negotiating a multi-million dollar payment to clifford to bury the 60 minutes video and renew the nda.

They said to not be suprised if this whole thing disappears tomorrow.

Just sayin......

[pnwmom]

47. That sounds entirely plausible. This could be a huge game of poker. Who blinks first. n/t

[GETPLANING]

44. TORT reform, it is a bitch

[Javaman]

46. "may" nt

[Angry Dragon]

48. From the facts Trump had sex with a porn star while married to Melania

otherwise all these lawsuits are just a waste of paper

[still_one]

49. Could trump's NDA be construed as solicitation of prostitution?

Last edited Sat Mar 17, 2018, 03:08 AM - Edit history (1)

[jberryhill]

51. Lol no

[still_one]

52. +++++++++++++++++++++++++

[jberryhill]

70. Perhaps this deserves more than a summary answer

But it’s a weird question in view of the fact that Daniels career has pretty much consisted of getting paid to have sex with people. Except when there is a camera present, it is considered to be acting.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. However, in this context the sex was in 2005/6, and the payment in 2016 was not for sex, but for keeping quiet about it. Obviously, a poor investment.

[still_one]

71. Based on the brief clip we had of Billy Bush, I suspect there are quite a few who got paid for

"services rendered", though it would be one person's word against another

What would be ironic is if it was the Daniel's relationship that brought trump down, and not the Mueller investigation.

After all, Al Capone was convicted of Tax Evasion

[healthnut7]

50. Interesting

Now that Trump's lawyer has put in the law suit against Stormy that Donald Trump aka (David Dennison's name), isn't that admitting he does know her? The original one that DD never signed did say it was DD and how do you sign a legal document with a fake name anyway? Isn't that fraud?

[SomethingNew]

53. Here's how I hope this plays out:

1. Stormy or her idiot lawyer end up telling the story. She has already breached her contract and told most of the story anyway so at this point, let's just get the whole thing out. The public should probably know about parts of this affair, especially if the lawyer's claims of the last two days are true.

2. Stormy gets sued into oblivion. She is just about the least sympathetic person I can think of and is such a slimy character that just thinking about her makes my skin crawl. She slept with Trump, signed a contract and RECEIVED MONEY to keep quiet about it, and then broke that contract repeatedly when she saw an opportunity for more personal gain. She isn't too many rungs up the ladder from Trump.

[lamp_shade]

54. So, SomethingNew, you HOPE Stormy and her "idiot lawyer" lose?

[SomethingNew]

56. They deserve to lose.

She signed a contract and now she wants to break it for her own selfish gain.

I want the full story out there as much as anyone but I'd rather not throw out contract law while we're at it. And I have no respect for someone who breaks a contact, thereby going back on their word, even if it is legal because of some slip up on the part of the lawyers.

I think her lawyer is an idiot and reflects badly on the profession because of his decision to make all the media gossip tours. He should keep his mouth shut until after the case is decided.

[NickB79]

72. She signed a contract, but not with Trump

By all reports, Trump's signature is nowhere to be found on the documents, only his lawyer's.

[SomethingNew]

73. Not sure why that matters.

So many people here have latched onto that like it is some magic bullet. Most contracts don't even have to be written down to be enforceable. You can also have the contract signed separately so whatever copy she has may not have his signature. But most importantly, she accepted the money. You don't get to accept payment and then claim you don't have to fulfil your duties because the contract wasn't signed. You also don't get to simply return the money when you've decided an indefinite contract no longer suits you. I can't imagine a court holding that it is not enforceable against her under these circumstances.

You can't change the law just because you would really like a different outcome in one case. I'm also not really sure what else we are hoping to learn from Stormy. We know had an affair with her just after his child was born and we know he paid her to keep quiet. At this point, I'm more interested in the source of the payment funds than anything else. I'm not really interested in reading a tell-all book detailing the size of Trumps penis and his sexual prowess. Such a book even existing would make me want to vomit.

[Cha]

60. NO.. fuckhead racist, russian mole, trump is the

LEAST sympathetic person in the whole world he's Fucking up.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

57. Legal experts are saying this is very dumb.

For example, see: https://twitter.com/tribelaw

(snip)
Laurence Tribe
?Verified account @tribelaw

.@RuthMarcus is 100% right that Trump’s move to shift the #StormyDaniels suit to federal court is DUMB and shouldn’t trouble @StormyDaniels in the least. If Trump’s countersuit survives a motion to dismiss (unlikely), it’ll expose @realDonaldTrump to DISCOVERY‼️

-------------

........... ..............

[Cha]

61. Thanks for that, KY

[KY_EnviroGuy]

76. YW, Cha. See this, too:

Link: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/378889-stormy-daniels-fundraises-170k-in-two-days-to-cover-trump-legal

(snip)
Michael Avenatti @MichaelAvenatti

The filing today is yet another bullying tactic from the president and Mr. Cohen. They are now attempting to remove this case to federal ct in order to increase their chances that the matter will be decided in private arbitration, thus hiding the truth from the public.
5:29 PM - 16 Mar 2018

---------------

[Cha]

77. Good Luck to Stormy and her

lawyer Michael Avenatti!

Thanks again!

We need to know!

[no_hypocrisy]

62. Not only Discovery but the provision for $1 million per disclosure is unenforceable.

Contract Law states that a contract which is so outrageous or immoral that it shocks the sensibilities of the courts is void and unenforceable. One million dollars as a penalty will likely be considered outrageous and immoral, even for Donald Trump.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

75. No surprises there & thanks for that insight!

tRump thinks he's still running a mob-based real estate office and can "shock-and-awe" his way out of anything. Welcome to the brick wall of international justice, Donny.

Let's hope a few hundred other thugs around the world fall with him.

...........

[Achilleaze]

63. republicans are a moral mess

Dirty Donny is disgusting.

[Vinca]

64. Her attorney seems giddy at the thought of depositions.

And just imagine the exhibits that might be entered into evidence. Don has just gifted Stormy with a way to release the goods without legal peril.

[Ilsa]

68. Lawyer on msnbc said the contract specifying $20M vs $130K business won't fly.

Said the deal is too inequitable to be considered a fair contract.