Date: 05-09-2023

Case Style:

E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump

Case Number: 1:22-cv-10016

Judge: Lewis A. Kaplan

Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan County0

Plaintiff's Attorney: Roberta A. Kaplan, Shawn Crowley, Matthew J. Craig, Joshua Matz

Defendant's Attorney: Matthew G. DeOreo, W. Perry Brandt, Alina Habba, Michael T. Madaio, Chad Derek Seigel, Joseph Tacopina

Description: New York City, New York personal injury lawyer represented Plaintiff who sued Defendant for sexual assault and battery .

1. Roughly 27 years ago, playful banter at the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in New York City took a dark turn when Defendant Donald J. Trump seized Plaintiff E. Jean Carroll, forced her up against a dressing room wall, pinned her in place with his shoulder, and raped her. 2. In the aftermath, Carroll confided in two close friends. One urged her to report the crime to the police, but the other warned that Trump would ruin her life and livelihood if she reported it. 3. Carroll chose silence—and remained silent for over two decades. 4. Carroll knew then that sexual assault was pervasive. She also knew that men have been assaulting women and getting away with it since before she was born. And she knew that while a woman who accused any man of rape was rarely believed, a woman who accused a rich, famous, violent man of rape would probably lose everything. She therefore reasonably concluded that if she accused Donald Trump of rape he would bury her in threats and lawsuits, and she would probably lose her reputation, not to mention everything she had worked for and achieved.

2. In the aftermath, Carroll confided in two close friends. One urged her to report the crime to the police, but the other warned that Trump would ruin her life and livelihood if she reported it.

3. Carroll chose slience and reamined silent for over two decades.

4. Carroll knew then that sexual assault was pervasive. She also knew that men have been assaulting women and getting away with it since before she was born. And she knew that while a woman who accused any man of rape was rarely believed, a woman who accused a rich, famous, violent man of rape would probably lose everything. She therefore reasonably concluded that if she accused Donald Trump of rape he would bury her in threats and lawsuits, and she would probably lose her reputation, not to mention everything she had worked for and achieved.

5. Near the end of the 2016 presidential election, Carroll watched in horror as numerous women offered highly credible (and painfully familiar) accounts of Trump assaulting them; Trump responded with insults and denials; the public fractured; and Trump not only won the election, but grew more popular with some supporters as a result of the controversy.

6. Carroll’s mother, a respected Republican official in Indiana, was dying during the last six weeks of the presidential election. Carroll, wanting to make her mother’s last days as pleasant as possible and avoid causing her any pain, decided to remain silent about what Trump had done to her.

7. But that all changed in late 2017, when the Harvey Weinstein scandal and its aftermath signaled a profound shift in how American society responds to accusations of sexual misconduct by powerful men. It suddenly seemed possible that even Trump could be held to account.

8. For Carroll, that project grew more urgent—and more personal—as the #MeToo era prompted a flood of new letters to her advice column seeking her counsel about how to respond to sexual assault and abuse. In her column, Carroll encourages her readers to be brave, to think clearly, and to seek justice. When readers overcome with doubt and anxiety have turned to her seeking advice, Carroll has always advised taking action. But she never confessed her own experiences. She never revealed that she, too, had been a victim of sexual assault. Over time, as described below, the contradiction between Carroll’s words and her actions became increasingly untenable.

9. Carroll is a journalist. She watched as a throng of women came forward and accused Trump of sexual assault, only to be denigrated and then brushed aside. When she felt she should finally come forward herself, Carroll wanted to do it differently. She decided to describe Trump's rape in a book she had already begun to write about her experience with various men. She did not want to tell her story to the police, a newspaper, an elected official, or a fellow journalist, and be treated as a "victim." She wanted to tell her own story on her own terms.

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Outcome: Plaintiff's verdict for $5 million.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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