A federal judge in Florida has granted President Donald J. Trump permission to update his civil lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation, pushing the case forward while throwing out the media outlet’s current motion to dismiss.
In an order issued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman ruled that President Trump established good cause to alter his original filing past the initial March 31, 2026, deadline.
The decision permits President Trump to introduce new factual allegations gathered during jurisdictional discovery conducted between April and June 2026.
According to the court filing, the new additions rely heavily on analytics data obtained from the broadcaster.
Trump’s legal team argued that the evidence includes records showing “that the BBC’s own data reflect at least 34 successful play starts attributed to Florida, and that the BBC received contemporaneous notice that its geo-blocking was failing.”
The BBC had urged the court to deny the amendment, characterizing the motion as “gamesmanship” and arguing that the revisions were a delayed attempt to alter damages claims and avoid specific discovery obligations. The network also argued that the late changes would unfairly expand the timeframe and expense of the litigation.
Judge Altman rejected those arguments, ruling that the two-month gap between acquiring the discovery data and asking to amend did not constitute undue delay. He noted that the revised complaint narrows certain aspects of the lawsuit, including dropping two studio defendants and removing claims that the network physically entered or directly distributed the documentary in Florida.
The order also noted a shift in the lawsuit’s financial claims. Following statements from President Trump’s legal counsel during a recent discovery hearing, the court noted that the suit will no longer seek reputational damages tied to his corporate brands or businesses.
Counsel stated in court that the claim is “simply the reputational injury to the President, full stop,” though the overall lawsuit maintains its original $10 billion damages demand.
By granting the motion to amend, the judge formally denied the BBC’s pending motion to dismiss as moot, allowing the network to file an updated response targeting the new complaint.
Trump was directed to submit the amended complaint to the court docket by August 10, 2026, while existing discovery stays remain in place pending further proceedings before Magistrate Judge Lett.
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