President Trump has appealed a New York court\u2019s ruling that kept the sprawling civil fraud case against him intact, despite tossing out the roughly $500 million penalty imposed upon him and his business empire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His lawyers on Tuesday filed a notice of appeal<\/u><\/a> with New York\u2019s highest court, signaling their intention to challenge much of a midlevel appeals court\u2019s decision that affirms the judgment of the trial court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Judges on the state Appellate Division\u2019s First Department issued a deeply divided decision<\/u><\/a> upholding the lower court\u2019s finding that Trump, his eldest sons and another executive conspired to alter his net worth for tax and insurance benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They erased the \u201cexcessive\u201d financial penalty Judge Arthur Engoron,<\/u><\/a> the trial judge, imposed on the president and his business but allowed other penalties, including ones barring Trump and his sons from serving in top roles at any New York company in the near term, to stand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The five-judge panel reached that consensus despite none of the court\u2019s three opinions garnering majority support. Two judges said Engoron\u2019s findings at the trial level were warranted, two would have ordered a new trial and the fifth judge voted to toss the case altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The judges expressed an interest in passing the case along to the Court of Appeals, New York\u2019s highest court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA remarkable situation has necessitated a remarkable solution,\u201d reads the opinion by Judges John Higgitt and Llin\u00e9t Rosado, who joined two other judges to form a majority in signing the court\u2019s \u201cdecretal\u201d \u2014 its bottom-line order affirming Engoron\u2019s underlying findings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s sons, Donald Trump Jr.\u2002<\/u><\/a>and Eric Trump,<\/u><\/a> also appealed<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After the appeals panel handed down its decision, the Trump family celebrated by calling it a \u201cTOTAL VICTORY\u201d<\/u><\/a> and \u201cmassive win.\u201d<\/u><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n