The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York delayed Donald Trump’s payment of the $83.3 million defamation award to E. Jean Carroll on Monday, giving him time to seek Supreme Court review. The court also ordered him to increase the bond by $7.46 million to cover interest that would accrue while the case remains in legal limbo.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, said Tuesday that she was pleased the appeals court conditioned the stay on Trump posting a bond of nearly $100 million. Trump had already posted an earlier increase that brought the amount owed to more than $91.6 million before Monday’s order.
The delay means Trump does not have to pay the award now, but only until the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the case or refuses the appeal. That keeps the money on hold in a dispute that has already moved through a Manhattan jury, two federal appeals court rulings and a separate $5 million verdict in Carroll’s favor.
In January 2024, a Manhattan jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her over comments he made in 2019. A separate jury later found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll and awarded her $5 million. Federal appeals courts have upheld both verdicts, including last September, when the $83.3 million award was affirmed, and in December 2024, when the $5 million verdict was upheld.
The fight is not just about money. Trump is challenging the larger award on several grounds, including his argument that he had absolute immunity for comments he made about Carroll while president. Last year, he asked the Supreme Court to overturn the $5 million verdict too, and his lawyers argued then that the allegations behind that case were propped up by a series of indefensible evidentiary rulings.
Carroll’s claims have been part of a longer public and legal dispute that dates back to the 1990s, when she accused Trump of raping her inside the dressing room of a Manhattan department store. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations. Monday’s order does not end the case, but it does set a price for the next step: Trump can keep fighting, if he keeps posting more money while he does it.
