Donald Trump has sued the developers of a Baja California condominium development that went belly-up after developers ran out of money before beginning construction on the 525-room, mixed-use, luxury project.
Filed in federal court in New York on April 9, Trump's lawsuit seeks $40 million in compensatory and punitive damages and accuses Los Angeles-based Irongate Development of failing to build the five-star resort, called Trump Ocean Resort Baja.
Trump's lawsuit against his developer partners comes one month after condominium buyers named him in a lawsuit accusing Irongate of squandering $32 million worth of buyers' deposits.
The buyers' lawsuit, filed on March 13, also accused Trump and Irongate of misleading them about Trump's role in the project, which Trump's lawyers insist was merely a licensing agreement for use of the Trump name.
In his lawsuit, Trump claims that as part of the licensing agreement, the developers were required to protect and defend him from any possible claims from buyers.
"Defendants, as the developers of the project, were entrusted with ensuring that the project would be constructed and developed in accordance with the buyers' purchase contracts and in keeping with the high standards of luxury, quality, reliability and dependability associated, throughout the world, with the Trump name," Trump's lawsuit said.
Published reports cited sources within the Trump Organization who said the billionaire hoped his lawsuit will help buyers recoup their deposits.