A United States federal judge ruled Wednesday that E. Jean Carroll can collect $5.8 million held in escrow from her case against Donald Trump. Lewis A. Kaplan’s order lets the money move out of the account where it has sat since the 2023 civil verdict, even as Trump’s lawyers asked a court to stop the payout.
The amount is larger than the original $5 million award because interest has accrued. Carroll, who is 82, won the underlying case after a jury found that Trump sexually abused and defamed her. The jury said he attacked her in 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury Manhattan department store, and later defamed her after she described the attack publicly in a 2019 memoir.
Lewis A. Kaplan and the escrowed money
Kaplan’s ruling changes who controls the funds, not the underlying dispute over the verdict itself. Trump had already deposited the money in an account, so the immediate question is whether Carroll can receive it now or whether the payment will be held up while the appeal proceeds.
The Supreme Court recently let the 2023 civil verdict stand, leaving the award in place. Carroll’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Trump’s attorneys said Wednesday that they would continue to appeal.
Trump’s lawyers seek a block
Trump’s side moved at once to stop the release. His lawyers asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the payment while they appeal, and they accused his political opponents of using the legal system against him.
That request places the money in the middle of an active appellate fight. If the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals grants the request, the escrowed funds stay put for now; if it does not, Carroll can collect the $5.8 million while Trump’s challenge continues.
Carroll’s verdict and appeal
The jury reached its verdict in a trial that Trump did not attend. Carroll testified that the encounter with Trump, which she described as flirtatious and friendly at first, turned violent. Trump insisted he never knew Carroll, who is now 82, and said in an interview that she was not his type.
Trump is also appealing $83 million in defamation compensation from a separate 2024 trial in Manhattan, where Trump briefly testified. At that trial, Kaplan required the jury to accept the findings of the earlier jury and decide only how much money, if any, Trump owed for comments he made while he was president.
For Carroll, the immediate result is practical: the escrowed money can be released unless the appellate court steps in. For Trump, the fight now shifts to whether his lawyers can freeze the payment before the appeal runs its course.
