An ex-contestant on The Apprentice can sue Donald Trump for defamation after the former president called her a liar for accusing him of se...
An ex-contestant on The Apprentice can sue Donald Trump for defamation after the former president called her a liar for accusing him of sexual assault, New York state's highest court rules.
The state's Court of Appeals on Tuesday cleared the way for Summer Zervos to file a defamation lawsuit against Trump.
Trump had argued before leaving the White House that Zervos could not pursue her case because a sitting president could not be sued.
In a brief order, the court found 'the issues presented have become moot'.
The order likely means Zervos' case will return to a Manhattan trial court and give her lawyers an opportunity to question Trump under oath.
New York's Court of Appeals on Tuesday cleared the way for Summer Zervos to file a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump
A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Zervos' lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Zervos came forward during the 2016 presidential campaign with accusations that Trump subjected her to unwanted kissing and groping after she sought career advice in 2007.
She alleges the assault occurred two years after her appearance on his reality television show The Apprentice.
She claims Trump forcibly kissed her at a job interview in Manhattan's Trump Tower in early December 2007 and then aggressively groped weeks later at a professional dinner in Los Angeles.
Zervos sued Trump in January 2017 after he branded such allegations by women 'lies' and retweeted a post calling Zervos' claims a 'hoax'.
She has been seeking a retraction or an apology ever since, as well as compensatory damages and punitive damages.
Trump has denied Zervos' claims and called her case politically motivated.
Zervos claims Trump subjected her to unwanted kissing and groping after she sought career advice in 2007 - two years after her appearance (above) on Trump's reality television show The Apprentice
She claims Trump forcibly kissed her at a job interview in Manhattan's Trump Tower in early December 2007 and then aggressively groped weeks later at a professional dinner in Los Angeles
Zervos sued Trump in January 2017 after he branded such allegations by women 'lies' and retweeted a post calling Zervos' claims a 'hoax'
In court filings, Zervos had noted she is a Republican.
She also claimed she came forward with her allegations prior to Trump launching his campaign for presidency.
In court documents related to the case, Zervos says she contacted Fox News about the alleged assault in August 2015 but the outlet ignored her.
Zervos also allegedly contacted multiple lawyers about taking legal action back in 2011, including acclaimed women's rights lawyer Gloria Allred - who represented her at the time she went prior to the election but later withdrew from the case without explanation.
Zervos was one of several women who came forward to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election as he came under fire for bragging about grabbing women's genitals in a now-notorious Access Hollywood clip with Billy Bush.
Former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll is also suing Trump for defamation after he denied having raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.
Trump has denied claims by several women of improper sexual conduct.
Zervos sued Trump in January 2017 after he branded such allegations by women 'lies' and retweeted a post calling Zervos' claims a 'hoax'. She is pictured leaving court in 2018
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