MIAMI— A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump’s business entities accusing Capital One of closing hundreds of accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, but left the door open for the plaintiffs to try again with a revised complaint.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman granted Capital One’s motion to dismiss during a Friday hearing in Miami, ruling that the complaint was “deficient” but allowing the Trump entities time to seek limited evidence and then amend their claims, Law360 reported.
The suit was filed by the Trump Organization and Eric Trump, who alleged Capital One improperly shut down hundreds of business accounts in 2021 for political reasons in what they characterized as “de-banking” tied to the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. According to reports on the ruling, Altman said the plaintiffs had pointed to enough facts to suggest the closures may have been politically motivated, but found the complaint lacked the specificity and legal support needed to move forward in its current form.
Law360 reported that Altman gave the Trump entities 90 days to pursue evidence from Capital One and an additional two weeks after that to file an amended complaint if they choose. The ruling means the case is not over, but it does hand Capital One a procedural win for now in a closely watched banking dispute that has drawn attention amid broader conservative criticism of alleged politically motivated account closures.
The case has been watched well beyond Trump-world because it touches on larger debates over reputational risk, account closures and “de-banking” claims that financial institutions increasingly face in politically charged environments. For now, the Florida court’s order leaves the Trump entities with a path to refile, while sparing Capital One from having to defend the original complaint as drafted, Law360 said.