The Globe and Mail

Oh, say can you see — a big flag lawsuit?

New York real estate mogul Donald Trump is suing the town of Palm Beach over a dispute about a large flag at his Mar-a-Lago Club.

Attorneys for the club filed a complaint Thursday suing the town for $10 million in damages plus attorneys' fees after Trump was cited over the flag in October. The lavish club hoisted a 15-by-25-foot American flag atop an 80-foot pole at the location on Oct 3.

Town officials said Trump violated zoning codes with a flagpole taller than 42 feet, for not obtaining a building permit, and for not getting permission from the landmarks board.

Trump's attorneys, however, say the town is selectively enforcing its ordinances and that flying the flag is a constitutionally protected expression of free speech.

"A smaller flag and pole on Mar-A-Lago's property would be lost given its massive size, look silly instead of make a statement, and most importantly would fail to appropriately express the magnitude of Donald J. Trump's and the Club's members' patriotism," the lawsuit states.

It also alleges that other locations in the town display flags that violate town statutes and states that all damages awarded to the club in the case would be donated to "The Returning Veterans of the Iraqi War."

At the time the club was cited, Trump had until Nov. 27 to apply for approvals or faced a Dec. 21 code enforcement hearing that could have resulted in $250-a-day fines. It was unclear Saturday whether that meeting took place, and a phone message left Saturday at the mayor and town council's office was not immediately returned.

"You don't need a permit to put up the American flag," Trump said in October. "The day you need a permit to put up the American flag, that will be a sad day for this country."