Writer E. Jean Carroll filed suit Thursday against former President Trump for battery under New York State’s Adult Suvivor’s Act, legislation that went into effect on Thanksgiving day.
The Adult Survivors Act dictates that New York State waive for one year the normal deadlines for filing lawsuits over sex crimes, allowing survivors to seek compensation for assaults that happened years or even decades ago.
The legislation is modeled on the state’s 2019 Child Victims Act which waived for two years the statutes of limitations to sue for sexual abuse that adults suffered as children. During that window, nearly 11,000 people sued churches, hospitals, schools, camps, scout groups and other institutions.
Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine, has accused Donald Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Trump has denied Carroll’s allegation, saying she made it up to sell a book. Carroll is already suing Trump for defamation, saying his public denials and disparaging comments have damaged her reputation.
The defamation lawsuit is scheduled for trial on February 6 before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, but it will likely be delayed because of the appeals process.
Carroll is seeking unspecified damages in the battery lawsuit. She is asserting that Trump caused her lasting psychological harm.
Judge Kaplan has said he may decide early next week how to schedule both lawsuits.
