Newsmakers

Judge, like jury, sides with Trump

CHICAGO

Tally another big win for billionaire Donald Trump in his legal battle with an 87-year-old who claimed “The Apprentice” star cheated her in a skyscraper-condo deal.

A federal judge in Chicago decisively sided with Trump on Friday on two outstanding allegations, after last week’s related civil trial in which jurors also gave the nod to the real-estate magnate.

In her 38-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve agreed with Trump that Jacqueline Goldberg was “a sophisticated” investor who could not plausibly claim to have been duped. The Evanston woman alleged Trump promised her profit sharing if she bought two condos at the glitzy Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago but that he reneged after she committed to buy.

But Goldberg signed a buyers’ contract giving Trump rights to withdraw the offer, and Goldberg had plenty of time to cancel the purchases without penalty, the judge concluded.

“Ms. Goldberg’s lack of urgency” to pull out of the purchases when she still could “undercuts her argument that the changes [about profit sharing] were such an outrageous surprise,” Judge St. Eve wrote.

Goldberg — who the judge noted has a master’s degree in accounting — knew or should have known the risk of the profit-sharing deal being withdrawn, the judge said. Goldberg signed her contract in 2006 before the hotel- condo was completed and so, the judge said, Trump may well have had “understandable” business reasons for altering the contract terms.

NBC Sports Network scores with NHL game

The NBC Sports Network set a record.

It might not stand for long.

The cable channel had a 2.07 national rating, its highest for an NHL broadcast, with 3,354,000 viewers tuning in to watch Chicago beat Detroit 2-1 in overtime of Game 7 Wednesday night.

Its previous record in seven-plus years of carrying NHL games was a 1.97 rating set June 2, 2010, when Chicago played Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup finals.

“We live by numbers every day, and what this tells us is that the NHL is on a roll in this country,” NBC Sports president of programing Jon Miller said Thursday. “While the lockout was unfortunate, we’re seeing that hockey has some impressive momentum. We’re really excited and encouraged by the continued growth in interest of the game and how people are finding the games on the NBC Sports Network.

“Now, we’re poised for what should be great conference finals.”

Vindicator wire services