E. Jean Carroll defamation case: Judge denies Trump's motion for mistrial
A jury ordered Donald Trump to pay Carroll $83 million for defaming her.
Former President Donald Trump, at the end of a five-day trial, has been ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages to former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her allegations of sexual abuse.
Last year, in a separate trial, a jury determined that Trump was liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s, and that he defamed her in a 2022 social media post by calling her allegations "a Hoax and a lie" and saying "This woman is not my type!"
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has said he doesn't know who Carroll is.
Top headlines:
- Jury awards Carroll $83.3 million in damages
- Trump walks out during plaintiff's closing statement
- Trump testifies he denied allegations to defend himself
- Repairing Carroll's reputation would cost $12M, says expert
- 'I would love it,' Trump says to judge's threat to toss him
- Trump 'ended the world that I had been living in,' Carroll says
- 'This is not a do-over,' judge instructs jury
Carroll, following decision, hugs her attorneys
After the decision was announced, E. Jean Carroll and her lawyers locked hands as they stood for the jury to exit, and multiple jurors appeared to nod toward them as they left the courtroom for the final time.
Carroll and her lawyers immediately broke into a group hug as soon as Kaplan dismissed the parties.
Trump's defense team promptly exited the courtroom once they were dismissed, and his attorney Alina Habba thanked the court's staff for their service.
Shortly after Judge Kaplan's deputy read the verdict, the judge thanked the jury for their service and offered them a suggestion about interacting with the media.
"My advice to you is that you never disclose that you were on this jury, and I won't say anything more about it," Kaplan told the jury.
Trump says he plans to appeal
Writing on his social media platform, former President Trump called the $83 million decision "Absolutely ridiculous!" and said he will appeal.
The former president was not in the courtroom when the decision was announced.
Jury awards Carroll $83.3 million in damages
Former President Donald Trump must pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her in 2019 after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store in the 1990s.
The jury determined that Trump must pay $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages.
Carroll had sought at least $12 million for reputation repair, plus additional compensatory and punitive damages.
A separate jury last year found Trump liable for sexually assaulting then defaming Carroll, awarding her $5 million in damages.
The current jury of nine New Yorkers -- including a former schoolteacher, a transit worker, and a property manager -- rendered a verdict after deliberating for just under three hours.
Jury reaches verdict
The jury in former President Donald Trump's defamation damages case has reached a verdict.
The judge has called the parties back into the courtroom to hear the verdict read.
The jury will announce whether they have found E. Jean Carroll suffered damages as a result of Trump's statements, and, if so, how much they award Carroll in both compensatory and punitive damages.
Court adjourned until Tuesday due to COVID-19 concerns
Court is adjourned Monday due to health concerns on the part of several participants.
The proceedings will resume Tuesday, pending everyone's good health, Judge Lewis Kaplan announced.
A juror reported feeling "hot and nauseous," so the judge sent him home for the day with instructions to get a COVID-19 test.
Additionally, defense attorney Alina Habba reported she is not feeling well. One or both of her parents had COVID-19 and she was exposed at a dinner with them three days ago, she said.
Habba said she had a fever 48 hours ago but a court-administered COVID-19 test this morning came back negative.
"We will not take testimony today," Kaplan said.
Former President Trump sat between Habba and her law partner Michael Madaio as the judge made the announcement.
"See you tomorrow, I hope," Judge Kaplan said.