N.J. judge to The Donald: You're dismissed

A Superior Court judge today dismissed a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump alleging that he was financially damaged by an author whose book suggested Trump was simply a multi-millionaire - not a billionaire.

Trump's lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, said he will appeal the ruling.

Superior Court Judge Michele M. Fox in Camden County read her decision into the record as she granted the request to dismiss the lawsuit against Timothy O'Brien, author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.

"It's deeply gratifying that the court's ruling vindicated the reporting in TrumpNation," O'Brien said this morning from his desk at the New York Times. He referred all other questions to his lawyers.

Marvin Smilon, a spokesman for the law firm defending O'Brien and publisher Hachette Book Group, Inc., called the lawsuit "meritless."

"Hachette has always been fully supportive of Mr. O'Brien and his reporting in TrumpNation and we are very pleased by the court's ruling," he said.

Kasowitz said the fight is far from over.

"We think that the decision was clearly wrong," Kasowitz said. "We're confident that this will be overturned on appeal."

Kasowitz said the judge's ruling conflicted with previous rulings by another judge.

In the book, O'Brien cited three anonymous sources who estimated Trump's net worth to be $150 million to $250 million. Trump alleges his public image has been harmed because he is actually a billionaire. He has said he lost huge business deals that were under negotiation when the book was published.

O'Brien maintained his sources gave him reliable information.

In today's ruling, the judge did not rule on the accuracy of the information, but decided the lawsuit should be dismissed because she found no "actual malice."