Which plaintiffs sued Donald Trump for sexual misconduct and what were their claims?
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Executive summary
Multiple women have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct and at least two—E. Jean Carroll and Summer Zervos—pursued lawsuits that reached courts; a jury found Trump liable to Carroll for sexual abuse (not rape) and defamation and ordered $5 million in damages, a decision the Second Circuit upheld on appeal in December 2024 and again in mid‑2025 [1] [2]. Reporting and timelines compiled by outlets such as The Guardian and ABC list more than two dozen accusers, though most did not file civil suits; sources emphasize contested facts, denials from Trump, and differing legal outcomes [3] [4].
1. E. Jean Carroll: the plaintiff who went to trial
E. Jean Carroll sued Donald Trump first for defamation in 2019 after he denied her 2019 allegation that he had sexually assaulted her in the 1990s; Carroll then filed a second suit alleging sexual abuse under New York’s Adult Survivors Act. A jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and ordered $5 million in damages; that verdict was upheld by a federal appeals court on December 30, 2024, with the court again rejecting a full‑court rehearing in June 2025 [1] [5]. Carroll’s complaint included claims that Trump “manhandled” her, pulled down her tights, groped her genitals and raped her; the jury did not find him liable for rape, and the appeals litigation has focused on evidentiary rulings and New York law [1].
2. Summer Zervos: defamation tied to a misconduct allegation
Former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos accused Trump of groping and kissing her without consent during the 2000s and sued him for defamation after he publicly called her allegations lies; ABC News records Zervos as one of the two accusers who pursued legal action, noting that her case involved his public denials and statements about her credibility [4]. Reporting shows Zervos’ action centered on alleged reputational harm caused by Trump’s denials rather than a separate civil sexual‑assault trial [4].
3. Other named accusers and the broader public record
Media summaries and timelines list more than two dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault, groping, unwanted kissing, or harassment going back decades; outlets such as The Guardian and academic overviews compile those allegations and describe a pattern alleged by accusers but also note Trump’s denials and claims of political motivation [3] [6]. Most of these women did not file civil suits against Trump; available sources document a range of allegations but do not show litigation for every accuser listed [3] [6].
4. Lawsuits beyond Carroll and Zervos: settlements, dropped claims, and new filings
Some earlier legal actions ended in settlement or withdrawal: Jill Harth filed claims in the 1990s alleging forcible kissing and groping tied to a “calendar girl” event but later dropped her sexual‑misconduct suit after settling another claim [2] [3]. More recent litigation and sensational filings—such as December 2025 social‑media claims about a $310 million sex‑trafficking suit naming Trump and tech billionaires—appear in fact‑checking and reporting but are distinct from the long‑standing Carroll and Zervos matters and warrant cautious treatment [7] [8].
5. Court rulings, evidence, and competing narratives
Courts have become the decisive forum for some claims: in Carroll’s case, judges allowed testimony from other women and a 2005 audio in evidence under rules permitting other‑acts evidence in sexual‑assault cases; Trump challenged those rulings on appeal but lost before the Second Circuit, which found no error in the evidentiary decisions [5] [1]. Trump and his spokespeople have consistently denied allegations, calling them politically motivated and disputing factual assertions in media and court filings [3] [1].
6. Limitations, open questions and what sources don’t say
Available sources catalog many accusers and some civil litigation, but they do not uniformly report every plaintiff’s name, every lawsuit’s detailed claims, or the evidentiary record for each allegation; for many accusers, “available sources do not mention” formal legal filings [3] [6]. Some stories circulating online—particularly late‑2025 mass lawsuits linking Trump with other public figures in trafficking schemes—are reported by outlets and flagged by fact‑checkers, but their legal status and factual bases remain contested in the sources here [7] [8].
Summary assessment: the public record shows two high‑profile legal actions that advanced into court—Carroll’s sexual‑abuse and defamation suits (leading to a jury finding and upheld verdict) and Zervos’s defamation suit tied to alleged misconduct—while dozens of other women have publicly accused Trump without pursuing, or without recorded results from, civil litigation; reporting emphasizes contested facts, denials from Trump, and evolving appellate developments [1] [4] [3].