Judge Denies Request To Delay Carroll Judgment

(NewsInsights.org) – In late January, a federal jury awarded columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in the penalty phase of her defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump. On Monday, March 4, Trump’s legal team filed a motion with District Judge Lewis Kaplan to delay payment of the judgment. On Thursday, Kaplan denied the motion, telling the former president to either pay Carroll or submit a bond to file an appeal. On Friday, Trump secured and submitted a $91.63 million bond agreement for the court’s approval as his attorneys filed an appeal.

Kaplan certified the jury’s decision on February 8, starting a 30-day clock. During this time, Trump’s legal team could file an appeal before he had to file a bond, pay the award, or face mounting penalties, interest, and contempt of court. On Monday, March 4, his legal team submitted a motion asking Judge Kaplan to delay the judgment assessment by an additional 30 days and to allow him to file an appeal without posting a nearly $100 million bond.

Kaplan denied the motion. He told Trump’s lawyers that their client’s current situation resulted from his decision to wait 25 days before seeking a delay or filing, and he suggested the delay tactic had adversely affected him. Trump’s legal team had also filed motions asking for a new trial, to reduce damages, or to reduce the bond to $24.475 million, a fraction of the jury award. A final motion asked that the judge delay the assessment or bond until 30 days after he addressed all of their motions.

Kaplan had not ruled on the other motions as of the article’s writing but rejected the initial one. In response, Trump submitted a bond agreement to the court on Friday, March 8. He secured the bond from Chubb’s Federal Insurance Company, according to Insurance Journal. Evan Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Chubb, formerly served as a Trump appointee on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.

Jean Carroll’s attorneys received the opportunity to review the bond agreement on Monday, March 11. Should they file an objection, Kaplan must schedule a hearing asking them to show cause.