Trump Ends Appeal in E. Jean Carroll $5 Million Verdict Case
The decision closes the final legal avenue through which Trump had contested the monetary outcome of Carroll's 2023 civil trial, though it does not alter the distribution of funds already paid.
Donald Trump has agreed to stop contesting the disbursement of the $5 million verdict awarded to E. Jean Carroll in her 2023 civil sexual abuse and defamation trial, according to a disclosure from the United States Court of Appeals, reported by The Guardian on September 29, 2026.
The appellate court disclosure confirmed that Trump will no longer oppose the monetary outcome of the verdict. The funds had already been distributed to Carroll prior to this development, meaning the procedural change does not alter her receipt of the payment.
The original $5 million verdict was returned by a federal jury in the Southern District of New York in May 2023. The jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in connection with Carroll's claims about an incident she alleged occurred in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. Trump denied the allegations throughout the proceedings.
Following the 2023 verdict, Trump's legal team pursued appeals contesting various elements of the judgment, including the monetary award. The case has moved through the federal appellate system over the subsequent three years. The specific appellate filing or motion through which Trump's legal team communicated the decision to cease opposition has not been fully detailed in available public records. The complete filing from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals would provide that documentation.
Carroll brought two separate civil lawsuits against Trump. The first, filed in November 2022 under New York's Adult Survivors Act, resulted in the May 2023 verdict. A second trial in January 2024 produced an additional judgment of $83.3 million against Trump on defamation claims related to statements he made after the first verdict. That second judgment has been subject to its own appellate proceedings, which are separate from the matter resolved this week.
The $5 million figure from the 2023 trial was divided by the jury between compensatory damages for sexual abuse and damages for defamation. The specific allocation between those two categories is contained in the jury verdict form filed in the Southern District of New York, case number 22-cv-10016.
Trump's decision to end the appeal on the $5 million verdict does not affect the status of the $83.3 million judgment from the 2024 trial. The appellate posture of that separate case is not addressed in the September 29 disclosure.
Carroll's legal team, led by attorney Roberta Kaplan, pursued the cases over multiple years. Kaplan's firm, Kaplan Hecker and Fink, entered appearances in both proceedings, which are reflected in the Southern District of New York's PACER dockets.
Trump has consistently maintained that Carroll's allegations are false. His public statements to that effect were themselves the basis of Carroll's defamation claims in both the 2023 and 2024 trials.
What remains unknown is the precise procedural mechanism, whether a stipulation of dismissal, a withdrawal of a pending brief, or another filing, by which Trump's legal team communicated the decision to the Second Circuit. The full appellate docket for the case, accessible through PACER under the relevant Second Circuit docket number, would contain that documentation. It is also not yet known whether Trump's legal team intends to pursue any further proceedings related to the 2024 judgment or whether a similar resolution of that appeal is under consideration.