Lawyer hints that E. Jean Carroll could file new suit
Just days after Donald Trump posted a $91.6 million bond in the defamation case he lost recently to writer E. Jean Carroll, her lawyer Monday suggested she was considering filing a third defamation lawsuit against the former president.
The lawyer raised the prospect of a new lawsuit after Trump in recent days repeatedly lashed out at Carroll, using the same kind of disparaging language that led to the huge judgment against him in January.
“The statute of limitations for defamation in most jurisdictions is between one and three years,” Roberta A. Kaplan, Carroll's lawyer, said in a statement Monday morning. “As we said after the last jury verdict, we continue to monitor every statement that Donald Trump makes about our client.”
In a separate court filing, Kaplan told the federal judge overseeing the case that she and Trump's lawyers had reached an agreement on the details of his proposed $91.6 million bond.
The bond — provided by Federal Insurance Co., an arm of insurance giant Chubb — would prevent Carroll from collecting her $83.3 million judgment while Trump appeals the defamation verdict. The bond is higher than the judgment because the former president is also responsible for interest.
The judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, who is not related to Roberta Kaplan, must still approve the proposed bond.
The race to secure the bond before Monday's deadline came as Trump was on the clock to obtain a bond for another huge judgment in a civil fraud case brought by the New York attorney general's office. In that case, Trump must post a nearly half-billion dollar bond by March 25, or the attorney general's office can begin seizing his assets while he appeals.
Trump lacks the cash to come up with both bonds at once, placing him in financial peril at an already hectic time. He also faces four criminal indictments — with the trial in the first case beginning in Manhattan in two weeks — all while he is on the cusp of becoming the Republican presidential nominee for the third time.
Although the former president boasts of his billions, his net worth is derived largely from the value of his real estate. He has more than $350 million in cash, a recent New York Times analysis found, far short of what he needs to obtain bonds in both cases.
An appeal bond is a promise from the company offering it to cover a judgment if a defendant — in this case, Trump — loses an appeal and fails to pay. In exchange, Trump must pay the company a premium and pledge collateral, including as much cash as possible.
Trump has twice attacked Carroll in recent days, using the type of language that has led to two defamation findings against him, most recently a jury's $83.3 million award in January.