Right after lawyers on both sides delivered closing arguments in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial taking place in a Manhattan courtroom, CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen explained that Donald Trump could be ordered to pay over a quarter of a billion dollars in total damages.
Speaking with hosts Boris Sanchez and Briana Keilar, Eisen pointed out that Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan asked for compensatory damages of "up to $24 million," but that is not where it ends.
Pressed by the hosts about punitive damages that likely will be tacked on, Eisen said it was beyond the realm of possibilities that the jury would come back with a number in the billions, but there is a rule of thumb when it comes to "multipliers" used based on the compensatory amount.
And it could be very bad news for the former president.
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"Damages are calculated into categories," he began. "There are compensatory damages, and we've just seen a request to make Carroll whole, things like hiring consultants, having a campaign to repair her reputation, the pain and suffering that she has endured: that's 24 million."
"Then to send lesson when a defendant is found to have acted with bad intent or malice, that he wanted to hurt E. Jean Carroll, you multiply that compensatory damages number by an X-factor," he continued.
"The factor can be quite high but there is a limit, they couldn't order billions in damages. Normally, the upper ceiling is about ten times compensatory. So, you could be looking here, if there is a true home run, and the proof is coming powerfully, the argument has been strong, and Trump wasn't allowed to speak. You could be looking at a multiple many times of $24 million. And that would send a message."
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