Former president Donald Trump has asked a federal judge to accept a bond that would secure less than a third of the $83.3 million that a Manhattan jury found that he should pay journalist E. Jean Carroll.
As we explained last week, Trump initially proposed that he be permitted to post no bond while litigating pre-trial motions in anticipation of appealing the jury’s January 26 verdict, in which he was found liable for defaming Carroll in 2019 and 2023. Not surprisingly, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York demurred. Ordinarily, a defendant seeking to stay enforcement of a civil judgment must post a bond equal to the amount of the judgment, plus interest.
Judge Kaplan directed that Carroll’s lawyers weigh in this week. As expected, they objected to Trump’s proposal. Kaplan gave Trump’s lawyers a Saturday 5 p.m. deadline to respond.
Trump’s lawyers continue to argue that no bond should be required. They rely on Carroll’s position at trial that Trump is worth $14 billion; given that, Trump argues, Carroll should need no assurance that Trump can pay the $83.3 million judgment amount if his appeal is unsuccessful.
Otherwise, Trump contends that the verdict amount is way out of proportion to any harm shown by Carroll; ergo, his posting of a $24.4 million bond should satisfy the court.
This contention is, shall we say, irrationally exuberant. Kaplan presided over the trial, and the jury’s verdict, while exorbitant, is within the bounds of his legal instructions. Moreover, Kaplan emphatically rejected Trump’s initial proposal to post no bond. The customary procedure is that a losing defendant must post the full amount of the verdict (plus interest) in order to stay enforcement while the appeal proceeds.
In any event, I would expect Kaplan to reject Trump’s position and require him to post the full amount (more than $90 million when interest is factored in) in order to block Carroll from enforcing the judgment pending appeal.
As we’ve noted, the Carroll situation exacerbates Trump’s financial peril. He has been found liable in New York State’s civil fraud case to the tune of $454 million (with interest, which continues to accrue), and he must post a bond in that case to block enforcement of the judgment while he appeals.
We will keep monitoring this.