E. Jean Carroll files new lawsuit against Trump

Carroll has been in the middle of a high-profile defamation suit against Trump, for which the former president sat for a deposition in October and a trial is set to begin next year.

• Until now, however, she had been unable to pursue legal action for the actual alleged assault due to the state's statute of limitations.
• The new law changes that, giving adult survivors of sexual misconduct a one-year window to sue their abusers regardless of when the incident occurred.

The big picture: In the new lawsuit, Carroll is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for psychological harms, dignity loss, pain and suffering, and reputation damage, AP reports.

• It's possible the presiding judge in the defamation case will decide to include the new claims in the trial beginning next year, per AP.
• At least hundreds of lawsuits are expected to be lodged by sexual assault victims under the new Adult Survivors Act.

What they're saying: "As we have been saying since last summer when the Adult Survivors Act was passed, E. Jean Carroll intends to hold Donald Trump accountable not only for defaming her, but also for sexually assaulting her, which he did years ago in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman," Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told Axios in a statement.

• "Thanksgiving Day was the very first day Ms. Carroll could file under New York law so our complaint was filed with the court shortly after midnight," Kaplan added.

• In a statement last week, Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said the expected new filing was "completely inappropriate and we will take up this issue with the court," the New York Times reported.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Carroll's attorney.