Trump Files $500 Million Lawsuit Against Univision

NEW YORK: Donald Trump has filed a $500 million lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court against Univision after the company declined to air the Miss USA pageant.

The mogul is suing for claims of breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relationship, defamation, punitive damages and attorneys' fees. This all stems from Univision's decision to terminate its agreement with Trump, directly involving the broadcast of the upcoming Miss USA pageant, scheduled to take place on July 12. Univision is one of several organizations, alongside Televisa and NBC, to cut ties with Trump's Miss Universe Organization (MUO) after remarks made by the business magnate regarding Mexican immigrants.

The lawsuit calls the move by Univision "a thinly veiled attempt…to suppress Mr. Trump's freedom of speech under his First Amendment." It calls out the fact that Univision is a privately held company principally owned by Haim Saban, who is a longtime Clinton Foundation donor and current Hillary Clinton fundraiser. The suit claims that Univision's decision to break its contract with Trump comes as "he begins to campaign for the nation's presidency and, in recent weeks, has dramatically risen in the polls while expressing critical views of Mrs. Clinton. Little else can explain Univision's decision to not only abandon its contractual relationship with MUO, but also, upon information and belief, pressure NBC to follow suit…."

The filing continued that, "Simply stated, Univision has no right to terminate its relationship with MUO and refuse to broadcast the upcoming Miss USA pageant…. The agreement between Univision and MUO, which requires that Univision broadcast the Miss USA pageant 'live via the Univision or UniMas Networks…at least one time,' is clear and unequivocal…."

Univision has responded to the suit: “We just reviewed Mr. Trump’s complaint for the first time, and it is both factually false and legally ridiculous. We will not only vigorously defend the case, but will continue to fight against Mr. Trump’s ongoing efforts to run away from the derogatory comments he made on June 16 about Mexican immigrants. Our decision to end our business relationship with Mr. Trump was influenced solely by our responsibility to speak up for the community we serve.”