Tag: Summer Zervos

NY court rules Trump must face “Apprentice” contestant defamation suit

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The New York State Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos’ defamation lawsuit against former President Trump could proceed.

Why it matters: The case could be the first time Trump will have to answer questions in court under oath since he took office in 2017, the New York Times reports.

Context: Zervos filed the defamation lawsuit in 2017, saying that Trump lied when he denied ever groping or kissing her without her consent in 2007, with the former president specifically tweeting that Zervos’ accusations were “made up events THAT NEVER HAPPENED.” Continue reading.

Trump called woman who says he sexually assaulted her, phone records show

Washington Post logoMore than a decade ago, Donald Trump made phone calls from his cellphone to a former candidate on “The Apprentice” around the same time that she says he sexually assaulted her, according to phone records made public Tuesday.

The excerpts from Trump’s Verizon cellphone bills over a three-month period in 2007 and 2008 show that Trump exchanged calls with Summer Zervos on at least six occasions, including on a day that Trump’s private calendar has shown that he was staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

That hotel stay is a key part of Zervos’s defamation lawsuit against Trump in New York State Supreme Court. Zervos says that Trump forced himself on her with unwanted kissing and groping while she visited him for lunch in his hotel room.

View the complete November 5 article by Joshua Partlow on The Washington Post website here.

New York appellate court allows Summer Zervos’s defamation suit against president to proceed

A New York appellate court ruled Thursday that President Trump must face a defamation lawsuit filed by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, one of about a dozen women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct shortly before the 2016 election.

The ruling, which Trump’s lawyers plan to appeal, means that attorneys for Zervos may have the opportunity to question Trump under oath in the coming months. The current schedule sets a deadline of June 28 for depositions, with document and electronic discovery expected to be concluded by the end of July.

Trump called Zervos and the other women who made accusations against him “liars,” prompt­ing Zervos to file the lawsuit in 2017.

View the complete March 14 article by Felicia Sonmez and David A. Fahrenthold on The Washington Post website here.

Trump to provide written answers under oath in Summer Zervos defamation lawsuit

The following article by Elise Viebeck was posted on the Washington Post website September 9, 2018:

With questions circling about President Trump giving an interview in one of his legal cases, his manner in past depositions hints at how he may behave. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

President Trump will provide written answers under oath in the defamation lawsuit brought by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who claims Trump sexually assaulted her in 2007, a new court filing stated.

Lawyers for Trump and Zervos agreed this week to exchange “written answers and objections” to formal written questions by Sept. 28, according to a document filed Friday with the New York State Supreme Court. Rules in New York state require interrogatories to be sworn or verified, according to a source familiar with the system, meaning that false answers could open Trump to charges of perjury.

The stipulation agreement represents a step forward in the case, which lawyers for Trump have tried to block multiple times this year without success. Zervos sued Trump for defamation in early 2017 after he called her a liar for claiming he had groped and forcibly kissed her 10 years prior. Trump denies wrongdoing in the case.

View the complete article here.

Judge Rules Trump Must Sit for Deposition in Ex-Apprentice Star’s Defamation Case

The following article by Elizabeth Preza was posted on the Alternet website June 5, 2018:

Summer Zervos claims Donald Trump groped her after she appeared on “The Apprentice.”

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge on Tuesday ruled that Donald Trump must sit for a seven-hour deposition by Jan. 31, 2019, the New York Post reports.

The deposition will occur as part of a defamation brought last year by former “The Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who accused Trump of groping her in 2016. Trump later called the allegation “fiction.” Continue reading “Judge Rules Trump Must Sit for Deposition in Ex-Apprentice Star’s Defamation Case”

President Trump Must Face Accusations of ‘Apprentice’ Contestant

The following article by James C. McKinley, Jr., was posted on the New York Times website March 20, 2018:

A Manhattan judge said on Tuesday that a former contestant on “The Apprentice” can proceed with her lawsuit against President Trump. The plaintiff, Summer Zervos, said that the president defamed her when he said she was making up her allegation that Mr. Trump had sexually harassed her. Credit Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

A New York State judge ruled on Tuesday that a defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who has said President Trump made unwanted sexual advances could go forward, raising the possibility of a public airing of other allegations of sexual misconduct against the president.

The decision by Justice Jennifer Schecter of State Supreme Court in Manhattan paved the way for lawyers to seek depositions from several women who accused Mr. Trump of sexual harassment before he was elected and to subpoena Trump campaign records related to his female accusers.

Justice Schecter rejected Mr. Trump’s argument that a state court has no jurisdiction over a sitting president. She cited a United States Supreme Court ruling that allowed Paula Jones to bring a sexual harassment suit against President Bill Clinton. Continue reading “President Trump Must Face Accusations of ‘Apprentice’ Contestant”

Former ‘Apprentice’ Star Subpoenas Trump Campaign

The following article by Harriet Sinclair of Newsweek was posted on the National Memo website October 16, 2017:

A former Apprentice contestant who alleges Donald Trump groped her has subpoenaed his campaign team for documents about “any woman alleging that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately.”

Summer Zervos said Trump had attempted to kiss and touch her in 2007, making her accusation public in October 2016. Trump called the allegations a lie, which led Zervos to file a defamation lawsuit against Trump.

As part of that defamation case, BuzzFeed News reported on Sunday that Zervos has subpoenaed the president’s campaign team for: “all documents concerning any accusations that were made during Donald J. Trump’s election campaign for president, that he subjected any woman to unwanted sexual touching and/or sexually inappropriate behavior.” Continue reading “Former ‘Apprentice’ Star Subpoenas Trump Campaign”