Attorneys for Donald Trump have requested a new trial in the defamation case brought by the writer E Jean Carroll, hours before he was unofficially crowned the Republican party’s presidential candidate.
Trump’s attorneys, led by Alina Habba, filed papers in federal court on Tuesday arguing that the jury’s compensatory and punitive awards of $83m for denying he sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s are out of proportion and should be reduced.
The former president’s lawyers identified case law that they said could reduce punitive damages to no more than $36.6m – and less if the compensatory component of the judgment, including millions to restore Carroll’s reputation, were reduced as well.
In court papers, the attorneys also argued that a district court could grant a motion for a new trial because evidence had been excluded from the case and the jury had been “erroneously instructed”.
“This Court’s erroneous decision to dramatically limit the scope of President Trump’s testimony almost certainly influenced the jury’s verdict, and thus a new trial is warranted,” the attorneys wrote.
Read more at AOL.com
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