A five-judge panel of New York’s mid-level Appellate Division on Aug. 21 voided the state’s $464 million disgorgement order against President Donald Trump, calling the record penalty “excessive” and unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. With interest, the judgment had swelled to more than $515 million and threatened to upend Trump’s real-estate empire. The court left intact Justice Arthur Engoron’s underlying finding that Trump, two of his children and the Trump Organization repeatedly inflated asset values to secure favorable loans and insurance terms. It also preserved injunctive measures that curb the company’s business activity in New York, including temporary restrictions on Trump and his sons serving as corporate officers. The decision exposed deep divisions: two judges said the fine violated the Constitution, two favored a new trial because of trial-level errors, and one argued the attorney general lacked authority to bring the case at all. The two camps joined to erase the monetary award, creating a compromise ruling that gives both sides a path to seek review by the state’s highest court. Attorney General Letitia James said she will ask the Court of Appeals to reinstate the financial sanctions, while Trump hailed the ruling as a “total victory.” For the president, the outcome removes one of his largest personal liabilities even as the fraud verdict—and the prospect of further litigation—remains in place.