Trump Legal Team Makes Next Move in E. Jean Carroll Suit

Donald Trump’s legal team on Thursday filed a notice of appeal on the verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll.

“Notice is hereby given Defendant Donald J. Trump appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from the judgement entered in this action on May 11, 2023 (Dkt. No. 178) (“Final Judgement”) awarding Plaintiff compensatory and punitive damages totaling $5,000,000.00, and from all adverse orders, rulings, decrees, decisions, opinions, memoranda, conclusions, or findings preceding, leading to, merged in, or included within the Final Judgement, by the Honorable United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan,” the notice of appeal stated.

It's official.

Trump files a notice of appeal on the verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll. @LawCrimeNews pic.twitter.com/tiRnC91uEH

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 11, 2023

A Manhattan federal jury awarded Carroll $5 million for “battery and defamation” in the civil case.

The jury did not find Trump guilty of rape but liable for sexual abuse.

Trump denied all wrongdoing in the case and said Carroll made up the story.

Yet, the jury still decided to give her $5 million.

From The Hill:

Former President Trump has appealed the jury’s verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll.

A nine-member jury on Tuesday ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in damages after siding with the writer in her lawsuit.

Trump’s attorneys filed a notice of appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday afternoon, the first formal step in contesting the verdict. His lawyers previously indicated they would do so.

Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s at a New York department store and later defaming her by denying her claims.

The writer sued Trump in November by leveraging a New York law that went into effect the same day that provides survivors a one-year window to seek civil damages for sexual battery, even if the statute of limitations has passed.

BREAKING: Attorneys for former President Trump filed a notice to appeal the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll trial. https://t.co/vdiRNbWem5

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 11, 2023

Trump said during Wednesday night’s CNN town hall that E. Jean Carroll is a “wack job” and the verdict is a “rigged deal.”

According to reports, Carroll is considering filing another case against Trump after his town hall comments.

The New York Post added:

The comments followed Carroll’s win in her case on Tuesday including on a claim that Trump smeared her name when with a lengthy Oct. 12, 2022 post on his social media platform Truth Social calling her accusations “a complete con job.”

Carroll is now considering filing a third defamation case against Trump over his town hall comments, according to a report by the New York Times.

“It’s just stupid, it’s just disgusting, vile, foul, it wounds people,” Carroll told the Times Thursday.

Her lawyer Roberta Kaplan said they hadn’t decided yet whether or not to bring additional litigation.

“Everything’s on the table, obviously, and we have to give serious consideration to it,” Kaplan told the newspaper.

“We have to weigh the various pros and cons and we’ll come to a decision in the next day or so, probably.”

The “Ask E. Jean” advice columnist has a 2019 defamation case still pending against the 45th president over his comments about her from that year denying having ever met her and calling her a liar. Trump has maintained that he had immunity since the comments were made while he was president.

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