A well-known securities analyst, fired by his firm after questioning the outlook for Donald Trump's glitzy Taj Mahal casino, has filed suit against the developer saying he was defamed.
Analyst Marvin Roffman also filed an action before an arbitration panel of the New York Stock Exchange, charging he had been wrongfully dismissed by the Philadelphia brokerage firm, Janney Montgomery Scott Inc., his attorney said.Roffman is seeking more than $2 million from Trump for defamation and wrongful interference with the brokerage firm in his employment.
He is asking more than $3 million from Janney Montgomery Scott on three counts of wrongful dismissal, defamation and infliction of mental distress.
The brokerage firm fired Roffman last March after Trump complained about the analyst and threatened to sue the firm over his comments.
Roffman was quoted in the March 20 Wall Street Journal as saying the Taj Mahal, one of three Trump casinos in Atlantic City, N.J., faced difficult prospects. Trump demanded that Roffman retract the statement or that Janney fire the analyst, a 16-year veteran of the brokerage firm.
Roffman wrote a letter of apology to Trump over the comments, but later retracted it, prompting the firm to dismiss him.
Although Roffman's comments focused on the Taj Mahal, they foreshadowed the troubles Trump faced just three months later when he was unable to make an interest payment to bondholders on another casino property, the Trump Castle.
Trump finally sealed a deal with his bankers last month for $65 million and received $20 million immediately in order to pay off the bondholders and avoid default. Now Trump faces the prospect of shedding properties from his vast empire in order to pare down his substantial debts.
In a phone interview last month, Roffman told Reuters that he was not gloating about Trump's troubles.
Roffman said the issue was not whether he was right or wrong about the casino, but if a competent securities analyst "should be allowed to express a negative opinion without somebody jumping down his throat because he is offending a rich and powerful person.
"An analyst isn't worth a dime if he can't express his opinion," said Roffman.
The suit cites news reports in which Trump called Roffman unprofessional and a bad analyst. It also said Trump "wrongfully, intentionally and maliciously induced and persuaded (Janney) to break its employment contract with Roffman."
Roffman said he was instructed by his lawyers not to comment on the lawsuit. Trump officials were not immediately available for comment.
Janney said it would vigorously defend itself against the Roffman action.
Janney restated that it did not fire Roffman for his comments about the Taj Mahal, but for retracting, without Janney's permission, the letter of apology the firm asked the analyst to sign.
Roffman has yet to find another job in the securities industry.