According to Reuters, former US President Donald Trump has filed an appeal with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, contesting the $83.3 million defamation verdict in the E Jean Carroll case.
Following Carroll’s claim that he had sexually assaulted her decades prior, Trump allegedly called her a liar, which precipitated the jury’s verdict on January 26. In order to bolster his appeal against the Manhattan jury’s June 2019 ruling that Trump defamed Carroll by rejecting her mid-1990s rape accusation, Trump secured a $91.63 million bond from Federal Insurance Co.
The jury awarded Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages, which included $11 million for reputational damage and $7.3 million for emotional distress, in addition to $65 million in punitive damages. According to Trump, he should either owe nothing or have the amounts granted drastically lowered.
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Trump is also facing a $454.2 million judgment in a civil fraud lawsuit. In addition, he has offered a $100 million bond, which New York Attorney General Letitia James maintains ought to cover the full amount of the judgment. Carroll’s trial is being overseen by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has not yet made a decision about Trump’s requests for a new trial and a decrease in damages.
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According to Trump’s legal team, the jury’s instructions regarding malice were incorrect, and the verdict was affected by Kaplan’s choice to not allow Trump to testify about his mental condition. Given that Carroll and Trump are both in their 70s, the drawn-out appeals process might take several years.
