A New York appellate court threw out the half-billion-dollar penalty in the civil fraud case against President Trump and others on Thursday, ruling that the fine was "excessive."

One of the judges on the Appellate Division, First Judicial Department wrote that the penalty, known as a disgorgement, against Mr. Trump, two of his sons and other executives and their company was "an excessive fine barred by the Eighth Amendment."

In February 2024, a New York judge ordered Mr. Trump and his codefendants to pay the state nearly $364 million in "ill-gotten gains" and millions more in interest dating back years, a total that has since ballooned to about $527 million. Judge Arthur Engoron's judgment left Mr. Trump on the hook for nearly 98% of the total.

The New York attorney general can ap

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