NEWSFederal Judge Rules Against Donald Trump's Appeal for New E. Jean Carroll Defamation Trial
Former President Donald Trump suffered a massive legal blow on Thursday, April 25, when Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled against Trump's attempts for a new trial in the $80 million defamation verdict for E. Jean Carroll.
Donald Trump's appeal was denied.
In the ruling, Judge Kaplan wrote, "Contrary to the defendant's arguments, Ms. Carroll's compensatory damages were not awarded solely for her emotional distress; they were not for garden variety harms; and they were not excessive, for all of the reasons stated in Ms. Carroll's opposition brief."
"In sum, an award of $11 million in reputational and $7.3 million in non-reputational compensatory damages is far from a historical anomaly in New York, before even considering the unique scale of the defamation at hand," the ruling continued. "Thus, the compensatory damages awards were not excessive as a matter of New York law."
Judge Kaplan said Trump’s legal arguments are without merit — and ultimately found that the punitive damages the jury awarded Carroll “passes constitutional muster.”
Donald Trump tried to get a new trial.
"Mr. Trump’s argument is entirely without merit both as a matter of law and as a matter of fact for all of the reasons articulated in Ms. Carroll’s memorandum of law in opposition to his motion," the judge's statement read. "Among other things, it ignores the fact that, as the jury and/or the Court concluded, Mr. Trump’s…statements were false, defamatory, and made with both actual and common law malice."
"It ignores the fact that those defamatory statements were viewed between at least 85 to 104 million times … It ignores as well the fact that the jury was entitled to believe Ms. Carroll’s testimony as to the impact of the … statements on her. And it ignores the lack of any persuasive legal authority supporting Mr. Trump’s contention," the message continued. "Indeed, the law is clear that when competing theories and evidence are presented at trial, the issue of causation ultimately is one for the jury, which the Court should not ordinarily disturb. In short, the argument — which Mr. Trump previously made to the jury, conspicuously without success, and which defies common sense — does not warrant dismissal as a matter of law."
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A New York jury ordered Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million last month for once again defaming his sexual assault accuser.
After the former columnist sued him for sexual assault last year, Trump accused Carroll of lying and bashed her on social media before and during the trial. The court ordered Trump to pay Carroll $7.3 million for emotional harm, $11 million in “reputational repair” and $65 million in punitive damages.
Following the verdict, the embattled ex-prez took to his Truth Social platform to slam the court's decision, calling it "absolutely ridiculous!"
"Our Legal System is out of control and being used as a Political Weapon," he ranted on Truth Social. "They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!"
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Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and subsequent defamation last year after E. Jean Carroll accused him of assaulting her.
As OK! previously reported, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and subsequent defamation last year after Carroll accused him of assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the '90s.
After the initial decision, the 77-year-old continued to defame the writer, claiming the case was a "scam" and that she was a "wack job."
