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The insurance company that provided Donald Trump's $91.6 million bond in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case has just 60 days to pay the entire amount if the former president loses his appeal.
Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama who was nominated by then-President Barack Obama and long-time Trump critic, has called the provision "unusual" in such contracts.
Trump had to post the entire $83.3 million a jury awarded Carroll in her defamation lawsuit as a condition of appeal. The figure comes with 9 percent annual interest, which will be returned to Trump if he wins his appeal.
As is normal practice, Trump used an insurance company to pay the money. In this case, he went with the Federal Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Chubb Insurance.
Writing in her Civil Discourse blog, Vance said that the 60-day payment deadline was unusual.
"There is an unusual provision in the bond that would give Chubb 60 days from the date final judgment is entered in Carroll's favor (if she wins on appeal) to make payment to her," Vance wrote.
If Trump loses his appeal and doesn't pay the money, "Chubb must tender the full amount. They can collect from Trump in turn, but doing that would be their problem," Vance wrote.
"This is good news for E. Jean Carroll because the bond guarantees that the judgment will be paid if she prevails on appeal."
Vance also noted that the judge gave Carroll's lawyers until Monday morning to file objections to the bond. He'll hold a hearing at 3 p.m. that same day if they do.
The former president has already been ordered to pay $88.3 million for two defamation cases that Carroll took against him. Both cases stem from Carroll's claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and Trump's subsequent denial of those claims.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, on Saturday, Trump said that Carroll has made "false accusations" against him. He also railed against the bond he had to pay.
"I just posted a $91 million bond, $91 million on a fake story, totally made-up story," he said.
Newsweek reached out to Trump and Carroll's attorneys via email for comment on Monday.
Trump had to post the money in court to be allowed to appeal the second defamation award, valued at $83.3 million. A jury awarded that money in January 2024.
The former president could open himself up to a further defamation lawsuit for his comments in Georgia.
"Sometimes it's not good to be rich," he told the crowd. "I could say things about what it would cost normally. Ninety-one million, based on false accusations made about me by a woman that I knew nothing about, didn't know, never heard of, I knew nothing about her.
"She wrote a book, she said things, and when I denied it, I said, 'It's so crazy, it's false.' I get sued for defamation. That's where it starts."
Trump also said that Carroll "is not a believable person" and that Lewis Kaplan, the judge in both defamation cases, was "a terrible person, a terrible judge" and "highly corrupt."
About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more