Adult Survivor's Act allows columnist E. Jean Carroll to file new lawsuit against Trump

E. Jean Carroll, the female columnist who accused Donald Trump of assaulting her in her 2019 book ‘What Do We Need Men For: A Modest Proposal’, will file a new lawsuit against the former US President.

Carroll claims that the New York mogul forced himself upon her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman, an upscale New York department store in the 1990s, writes The New York Times.

Trump has repeatedly denied the accusations and alleged that the two of them never met, despite the existence of photographic evidence of the two of them together in the 1980s.

The former US President has called Carroll a liar on several occasions. On top of that, he has argued he would have never done anything to her since she’s not “his type”.

According to The New York Times, the former Elle columnist sued Trump for defamation back in 2019 due to these statements.

However, Trump was US President at the time and brought on board the Department of Justice. The New York mogul argued that what he said was protected as part of his official duties as leader of the country.

The Department of Justice, which conceded that the statements were “crude and disrespectful”, also considered that Trump’s arguments were correct.

William P. Barr, General Attorney at the time, assumed Trump’s legal defense, transferred the case to the federal court, and tried to make the United States the defendant.

The case was dismissed since the US government cannot be sued for defamation.

However, in October 2020, a federal judge ruled that Trump was not performing official duties when he made those statements about the former Elle columnist, opening a new opportunity for legal action.

Now Carroll is looking to pursue a new defamation suit against the former US President, over similar declarations Trump made about the former Elle columnist since leaving the White House.

Not only that, but the new lawsuit will also include a claim of battery against the New York mogul, thanks to a novel New York state law called the Adult Survivors Act.

The New York Times reports that the Adult Survivors Act grants adult sexual assault victims the option to have a one-time opportunity to file civil lawsuits, even if the statute of limitations has expired.

According to ABC News, at least 18 women have come forward accusing the New York mogul of sexual misconduct over the years. Though only two have taken legal action against Donald Trump.

The most recent was a defamation suit made by Summer Zervos, a former contestant in The Apprentice. She took Trump to court for one time he allegedly groped her when she asked him for career advice at a Los Angeles hotel room in 2007.

The BBC writes that Zervos dropped the lawsuit, without giving a clear explanation, in 2021 after five years of litigation. However, maybe Carroll will succeed where Zervos could not.