A federal judge rejected former President Donald Trump's request for a new trial in the civil case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
The judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, says the jury did not reach a "seriously erroneous" result in the trial when they awarded Carroll $5 million in damages, and that the jury's decision to award compensatory and punitive damages to Carroll for sexual abuse and defamation was justified and fair.
The response comes after Trump's legal team requested Kaplan either decrease the jury's award to less than $1 million or order a new trial to dispute the damages. They argued that the amount was excessive due to the fact that the jury concluded that Carroll had failed to prove that Trump raped her but instead that she had been "sexually abused" rather than "raped."
However, Kaplan clarified that while the narrower legal definition of rape could undermine Carroll's claim of Trump's actions, the jury concluded that Trump indeed committed the act commonly understood as "rape."
"Now that the court has denied Trump's motion for a new trial or to decrease the amount of the verdict, E. Jean Carroll looks forward to receiving the $5 million in damages that the jury awarded her," Attorney Robbie Kaplan, who represents Carroll, said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press.
Justice Department says Trump may be liable in Carroll defamation case
The decision opens a way forward for a trial in early 2024.
In May, the jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll after her legal team alleged Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. Trump's legal team argued the alleged assault didn't happen and that the allegation was a politically motivated lie.
After the trial, Trump made remarks about Carroll at a CNN town hall, doubling down on his claim that he didn't do anything or that he had ever met Carroll.
Carroll’s legal team then sought an additional $10 million in a pending defamation claim to hold him liable for his remarks.
Trump has countersued Carroll, saying he too was defamed after she continued to call it "rape" when the verdict said "sexually assaulted."
Carroll's new defamation suit is now going to trial which is currently scheduled for January of 2024.
