A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s bid to overturn an $83.3 million jury verdict awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of defaming her in 2019 by denying her rape claim.
The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan upheld the verdict, stating that the district court did not err in its rulings and that the jury’s damages awards were reasonable given the extraordinary and egregious facts of the case.
The court rejected Trump’s argument that he deserved presidential immunity from Carroll’s lawsuit, affirming that the jury’s verdict was justified.
The $83.3 million award comprised $18.3 million in damages for emotional and reputational harm and $65 million in punitive damages. Trump’s attorneys plan to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the decision.
E. Jean Carroll, an 81-year-old former Elle magazine columnist, accused Trump of attacking her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in 1996.
Trump denied the claim in 2019, saying Carroll was “not my type” and had concocted the story to sell her book. A jury awarded Carroll $5 million in a separate defamation and sexual assault suit in May 2023, and another jury awarded her $83.3 million in January 2024.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the US Supreme Court’s July 2024 decision granting him substantial criminal immunity shielded him from liability in Carroll’s civil case.
However, the appeals court disagreed, stating that Trump had not raised this argument in his initial appeal and had not demonstrated how it would apply in this case.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said, “the Court also upheld the $83.3 million award of damages because, among other things, Donald Trump had been ‘recklessly indifferent’ to E. Jean Carroll’s ‘health and safety'”.
The court’s decision marks another significant development in the ongoing legal battles between Trump and Carroll, with Trump’s team vowing to continue fighting the verdict.
The case revolves around allegations made by E. Jean Carroll, an 81-year-old former Elle magazine columnist, who accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in 1996.
In 2019, Trump denied the claim, stating that Carroll was “not my type” and had fabricated the story to sell her book. This denial led to a defamation lawsuit filed by Carroll.
The initial lawsuit, known as Carroll I, was filed in 2019 and focused on Trump’s 2019 statements denying the allegations.
A separate lawsuit, Carroll II, was filed in 2022, alleging defamation and battery under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law allowing sexual assault victims to file civil suits beyond expired statutes of limitations.
In May 2023, a jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages after finding Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.
In January 2024, another jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages, comprising $18.3 million for emotional and reputational harm and $65 million in punitive damages, after Trump repeated his denial of the allegations in 2022.
Trump’s lawyers argued that he deserved presidential immunity from Carroll’s lawsuit, but the appeals court disagreed, upholding the verdict. The court stated that Trump’s actions demonstrated “reckless indifference” to Carroll’s health and safety.
Trump’s team plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, citing a recent decision granting him substantial criminal immunity.
However, the appeals court ruled that Trump had not raised this argument in his initial appeal and failed to demonstrate its applicability in this case. The case highlights the ongoing legal battles between Trump and Carroll, with significant implications for Trump’s future.
