The judge also denied a request to drop damages in the case. In January, the writer was awarded 83.3 million dollars (77 million euros) for defamation. Trump called the damages “completely out of proportion” compared to the reputational damage to Carroll.
According to the judge, the legal arguments put forward by Trump are unfounded. The $83.3 million in damages that Trump must pay is constitutional, he ruled.
“Mr. Trump’s argument is completely without merit, both legally and factually,” Judge Lewis Kaplan said in an 18-page decision Thursday. “Contrary to the defendant’s arguments, Ms. Carroll’s damages were not awarded solely for her emotional distress, they are not for everyday suffering, and they were not excessive,” the judge said.
The case was the second that the 80-year-old Carroll filed against Trump. In May last year, a jury ruled that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll in a fitting room at a luxury department store in 1996. Because Trump had portrayed her as a liar, he was also found guilty of defamation. However, the facts were legally barred and it was a civil lawsuit. As a result, he did not risk a prison sentence. But he had to pay $5 million in damages.
On the day of the verdict, Trump again insulted the woman on CNN: he claimed he had never met Carroll and called her a fool. Carroll then took further legal action, which resulted in the second case. Resulting in $83.3 million in damages.
A lawyer for Trump said he plans to appeal the decision.
Tags: million damages excessive Trump trial defamation case writer Jean Carroll
