Cushman & Wakefield has been found in contempt of court for failing to provide subpoenaed documents for an investigation into the real estate dealings of former United States President Donald Trump. The ruling comes after a series of legal manoeuvrings related to the Attorney General of New York State’s pursuit of information about appraisals on three of Trump’s properties.
“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,” says Attorney General Letitia James.
After failing in its appeal of an earlier court order, the real estate brokerage and advisory firm had asked for more time to gather the subpoenaed information — a request that presiding Justice Arthur Engoron tersely noted was filed two days after the deadline for handing the documents over to James.
“This Court acknowledges that OAG’s (Office of the Attorney General) subpoenas required Cushman & Wakefield to produce an enormous number of documents. However, this Court held several months ago that Executive Law 63 (12) allows for subpoenas of this breadth. Cushman & Wakefield has only itself to blame if it chose to treat the looming deadlines cavalierly. With the statutes of limitations continuing to run, every delay prejudices OAG and indirectly the people of New York State,” Engoron wrote in his ruling.
The firm will be fined USD $10,000 per day, beginning July 7, 2022, every day until it complies.
