Trump Loses Full Court Rehearing in Defamation Case
A divided federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to rehear Donald Trump’s appeal of the $83 million defamation verdict against him in the case brought by magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to grant an en banc hearing, leaving a three-judge panel’s September ruling intact.
The decision keeps the January 2024 jury award in place for now. It also leaves Trump with one major appellate fight still pending in the Carroll litigation, after he separately asked the Supreme Court to review a different $5 million award in her favor.
2nd Circuit Vote
The court’s active judges voted 5-3 against rehearing the case, after a judge asked the full Manhattan-based appeals court to take it up following the panel ruling in September. Judge Denny Chin wrote that it was the fourth time the 2nd Circuit had denied a request for all judges to hear an appeal in the matter.
Trump had sought review of the $83 million verdict entered after a second trial in January 2024. He briefly testified in that trial, and the jury awarded Carroll damages for defamation.
Carroll’s 2019 Claims
The case traces back to Carroll’s public allegation in 2019 that Trump sexually abused her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s. Trump denied knowing her, called the accusation false and said “she’s not my type” in an interview. Carroll sued for defamation in November 2019.
That earlier dispute also produced a separate $5 million jury award after a jury concluded that Trump had sexually abused Carroll in 1996 and later defamed her. Trump has appealed that case to the Supreme Court, which has not yet decided whether to hear it.
Roberta Kaplan’s Filing
After Wednesday’s decision, Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan said Carroll is “eager for this case, originally filed in 2019, to be over so that she can finally obtain justice.” The latest ruling leaves Trump’s $83 million liability intact unless a higher court takes the case.
For Trump, the immediate next step is a possible appeal to the Supreme Court. For Carroll, the full-court refusal means the January 2024 verdict remains the operative judgment while the fight moves into the next appellate stage.
