Trump cannot delay enforcement of $83.3 million verdict in E. Jean
Carroll case
Send a link to a friend
[March 08, 2024]
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal judge on Thursday denied Donald Trump's
request to delay enforcement of the writer E. Jean Carroll's $83.3
million verdict in her recent defamation case.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan adds to
pressure on the former U.S. president to line up an acceptable bond by
Monday so he can appeal.
In the Jan. 26 verdict, jurors agreed with Carroll, a former Elle
magazine advice columnist, that Trump had defamed her in June 2019 by
denying he had raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman
department store dressing room in Manhattan.
Kaplan made the verdict official on Feb. 8, and gave Trump 30 days to
post a bond or cash during his appeal, which is expected to challenge
the jury's finding of liability and the amount of damages.
Trump had sought to delay enforcement of the verdict until Kaplan ruled
on his motions to throw it out, which he filed on Tuesday.
But the judge said Trump should not have waited 25 days after the
verdict before seeking a delay.
He also said Trump failed to show how he might suffer "irreparable
injury" if required to post a bond.
"Mr. Trump's current situation is a result of his own dilatory actions,"
the judge wrote.
Kaplan has yet to rule on Trump's request for a reduced bond.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's presidential campaign, said
Trump "filed a timely motion to stay the ridiculous judgment," and that
many courts recognized the importance of temporary stays to consider
such motions.
"We look forward to continuing to litigate the case and to complete
vindication of the truth," Cheung said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Mar/08/images/ads/current/siu_sda_022924.png)
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/030824PIX/news_q37.jpg)
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald
Trump participates in a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham in
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S. February 20, 2024. REUTERS/Sam
Wolfe/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge,
declined to comment.
MULTIPLE JUDGMENTS
In seeking to avoid posting a big bond, or any bond at all, lawyers
for Trump rejected Carroll's claim that his finances were strained.
They assured that Carroll was "fully protected," and said a $24.5
million bond would be more than enough to "secure any minimal risk"
to her.
Carroll disagreed. She said Trump's finances were opaque, called
Trump the "least trustworthy of borrowers" and said his request
"boils down to nothing more than 'trust me.'"
Trump's financial flexibility deteriorated last month, when the
judge who found him liable in New York Attorney General Letitia
James' civil fraud case ordered him to pay $454.2 million.
He offered to post a $100 million bond in that case, but James said
any bond should cover the entire judgment.
An appeals court judge on Feb. 28 denied Trump's request to delay
enforcement during the appeal.
Asked on March 5 if he could pay what was owed or post bond in both
cases, Trump told Fox News: "I have a lot of money. I can do what I
want to do. ... I don't worry about the money."
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by
Susan Heavey in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Bill Berkrot and
Stephen Coates)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |