Dismissal of Trump's $500M claim is upheld

It's the end of the line for one of three suits tied to Donald Trump's stalled restaurant-catering hall at Jones Beach State Park.

The New York State Court of Appeals declined Tuesday to hear the developer's $500-million claim for state damages from delays to Trump on the Ocean. That means the 2009 Court of Claims' dismissal -- and the Appellate Division Third Department's 2010 affirmation of that ruling -- stands.

Lower courts had said Trump failed to prove the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation acted in bad faith when it denied his bid to build a basement at the proposed facility. The 27,000- square-foot basement, officials said, didn't comply with fire and building codes for a coastal floodplain. It would have included kitchens, offices, a refrigerated garbage room and a geothermal heat system.

"We were confident in our position from the start," said state parks spokesman Dan Keefe. "We are pleased that the courts have concurred."

Trump attorney Steven R. Schlesinger said he was disappointed the state's highest court won't hear an appeal, but was confident in the two active cases.

One seeks to uphold a ruling that the state improperly forced Trump to seek a variance -- later denied -- for the basement. The other, which Trump lost in lower court but was reversed on appeal, centers on whether the state can collect rent before construction.

"We don't think it affects the overall merits and ultimate result that will be achieved," Schlesinger said of Tuesday's ruling. "Which is, that Mr. Trump was entitled to build the building, and entitled to compensation from the state because of the delays."

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Garden City attorney Ronald J. Rosenberg, who represented civic organizations opposed to Trump on the Ocean, said he was "thrilled" the half-billion-dollar damage claim was effectively dead.

"I think it was ridiculous on its face," he said.