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When Is Trump Tower Not Trump Tower?

When The Donald says it's not:

Thirty buyers of Trump International units at 551 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. are suing the developers and Trump for allegedly misleading them into thinking the TV star's participation was a sure thing. Though sales contracts identify the project as the SB Fort Lauderdale Hotel & Condominium and state that Trump can withdraw from the licensing deal, the suit claims that marketing materials suggested Trump was on board as a developer.

''Everybody thought they were buying into Trump Tower,'' said Joseph Altschul, the Fort Lauderdale lawyer who filed the suit in Broward County Circuit Court.

The suit claims plaintiffs ''paid a premium for a condominium unit with the Trump name purportedly attached to it,'' reads the suit filed in Broward County Circuit Court. The project's website described it Thursday as ``a signature development by Donald J. Trump.''

This case again raises the issue, so carefully analyzed by Judge Seitz, of whether consumers can be misled by the overall impression and strength of an expensive condo marketing campaign as against disclaimers and exculpatory language inserted (buried?) some place in the contract docs.

The short answer: Joe, don't put a lot of money in this one.

When "mere multimillionaire" The Donald pulls out, maybe you should too.

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on May 20, 2009 (boomark / email).