An appeals court in New York on Thursday rejected an attempt by President Trump to halt a defamation lawsuit filed by a former “Apprentice” contestant, the latest legal setback for Trump in the case.
The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, rebuffed Trump’s appeal on the same day the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit against him, accusing the president of “persistently illegal conduct” at his charitable foundation.
The court’s decision marks the third time this year that a judge or court in New York has blocked Trump’s efforts to stymie the lawsuit filed by Summer Zervos, who during the 2016 presidential campaign accused him of sexual harassment.
Trump has denied her accusations, calling Zervos and all of the other women who made accusations against him “liars,” prompting her lawsuit early last year.
This string of legal stumbles leaves open the possibility that Trump could be deposed in the case. A judge last week set a deadline of January – two years after the suit was filed – for Zervos and Trump to sit for depositions. The courts have also allowed attorneys to move forward in gathering evidence.
Attorneys for Trump have argued that the president cannot be sued in state court and that his comments were political opinion. They have decried Zervos’s lawsuit as politically motivated.
Those arguments have not found much traction. In March, New York Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Schecter ruled that the Zervos lawsuit could proceed, bluntly writing, “No one is above the law.”
Last month, another appeals court in New York denied Trump’s request to stay proceedings in the case. The New York Court of Appeals denied the appeal Thursday and also dismissed a motion to stay the case.
Trump’s attorneys said the latest court decision was procedural and argued that the larger issues they have raised – including whether a sitting president can be sued in state court – were not answered.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump had any other appeals pending or what his next legal step would be in the case, and his attorneys declined to respond to questions on both fronts.
David Ferstendig, an expert on New York civil procedure, described Thursday’s ruling as a “technical dismissal,” saying the trial court case should go forward.
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