Trump's nearly $92M bond in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit approved by judge
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Former President Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 5. Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former President Trump posted a nearly $92 million bond in a New York court on Friday to appeal the $83.3 million in damages a jury ordered him to pay to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation by denying her sexual assault allegations.
The latest: Judge Lewis Kaplan, the presiding judge in the lawsuit, approved the bond on Tuesday.
- "Enforcement of the Judgment, to the extent that the Judgment awards damages, is STAYED pending the final disposition of the appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit," wrote Kaplan in approving the $91,630,000 bond.
Why it matters: It's another major financial blow for the GOP presidential frontrunner, who faces a separate $450 million fine in New York's civil fraud case over his business practices.
Context: A separate jury last year found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and later defaming her while in office and ordered him to pay her a total of $5 million in damages.
- The jury in January that leveled the $83.3 million judgment against Trump assessed how much he would owe Carroll in damages for denying that established fact.
- Among the defamatory statements the jury considered were remarks Trump made about Carroll during a televised CNN town hall last year just days after he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
Details: Trump's bond payment was underwritten by insurance company Chubb, an international insurance provider based in Switzerland.
- Under the bond terms, Chubb will only secure the appeal of the $83.3 million judgment and not any future appeals.
- Other terms of the bond, such as how much money or collateral Trump put down, were not disclosed.
The big picture: Since the jury's order in January, Trump has made several attempts to reduce the judgment or to pushback its enforcement deadline.
- In February he asked Kaplan, the judge who presided over both civil trials, to push back the due date of the penalty until the judge had ruled on his request to dramatically reduce the verdict or grant a new trial.
- His lawyers also asked the judge last week to delay the enforcement deadline until three business days after the court rules on his stay motion, though that was quickly denied by Kaplan.
Zoom out: In New York, defendants in civil cases are required to pay a bond worth at least 110% of the judgment amount in order delay paying the penalty as they appeal.
- The bond is essentially a promise that the penalty will be paid if the defendant's appeal fails to alter the verdict or judgment.
- On March 25, Trump will have to post a bond of $454 million if he's going to appeal the judgment in New York's civil fraud case.
- If he pays that bond, Trump could end owing millions to a bonding company that posts the money on his behalf, per the New York Times.
Go deeper: Judge in Trump hush money case orders jurors' identities remain secret
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details including Judge Lewis Kaplan's approval of the bond. The headline was updated to reflect this.
