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Judge says lawsuits aren't for raging against adversaries

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Trump claimed articles and book defamed him

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Trump to amend complaint, follow instructions

(Adds details from decision, background)

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday

threw out U.S. President Donald Trump's $15 billion defamation

lawsuit against the New York Times ( NYT ) over its content,

calling it a "decidedly improper and impermissible" effort to

attack his adversaries.

U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday said Trump violated a

federal civil procedure rule by failing to offer a short and

plain statement of why he should prevail over the Times, four of

its reporters and the publisher Penguin Random House.

He faulted the president for instead packing his 85-page

complaint with unnecessary statements lauding his successes and

"singular brilliance," attacking critics, and even defending his

father.

"A complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and

invective -- not a protected platform to rage against an

adversary," wrote Merryday, an appointee of Republican former

President George H.W. Bush.

The Tampa, Florida-based judge gave Trump 28 days to

file an amended complaint "in a professional and dignified

manner" of no more than 40 pages.

TRUMP PLANS TO FOLLOW JUDGE'S DIRECTIONS

A spokesman for Trump's legal team said in a statement:

"President Trump will continue to hold the Fake News accountable

through this powerhouse lawsuit against the New York Times ( NYT ), its

reporters, and Penguin Random House, in accordance with the

judge's direction on logistics."

In a separate statement, a Times spokesperson said: "We

welcome the judge's quick ruling, which recognized that the

complaint was a political document rather than a serious legal

filing."

Penguin Random House did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

Friday's order is an unusual rebuke by a federal judge

to a sitting president over decorum in the judicial process.

Trump sued over three articles and a book by two of the

Times reporters. He accused the defendants of defaming him prior

to the 2024 presidential election in order to sabotage his

campaign and disparage his reputation as a successful

businessman.

JUDGE SAYS A LAWSUIT IS NOT A PR MEGAPHONE

In a four-page order, Merryday said plaintiffs like Trump

are supposed to "fairly, precisely, directly, soberly, and

economically" tell defendants in complaints why they are being

sued.

Trump's complaint said the defendants "baselessly hate

President Trump in a deranged way," and that their actions

"represent a new journalistic low for the hopelessly compromised

and tarnished 'Gray Lady,'" a nickname for the Times.

It also contended that the Times itself was "deranged" for

endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris for president.

"A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations,"

the judge wrote. "Although lawyers receive a modicum of

expressive latitude in pleading the claim of a client, the

complaint in this action extends far beyond the outer bound of

that latitude."