Carroll's attorneys filed a motion to disburse $5.78 million from escrow after SCOTUS denied Trump's cert petition, as Trump seeks another delay via reconsideration.
E. Jean Carroll's attorneys filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 1, 2026, asking Judge Lewis Kaplan to disburse $5,779,783 held in escrow to Carroll, one day after the Supreme Court denied Donald Trump's petition for a writ of certiorari without a noted dissent [1]. The filing triggers a prior stipulation and court order that made disbursement contingent on a cert denial [1]. Carroll's lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan, described the development as the end of a four-year appellate campaign by Trump [2].
The motion arrives in the Southern District of New York, where the original civil judgment against Trump was entered. Trump's attorneys, before the motion was filed, contacted Carroll's counsel to request consent to a further delay, stating that Trump intended to seek reconsideration of the cert denial at the Supreme Court [2]. Carroll's team declined. Roberta Kaplan characterized the request as an attempt to extend litigation that had already exhausted its appellate runway, telling opposing counsel the case had reached its end [2].
The procedural posture is straightforward. The escrow account was established as part of a stipulation between the parties, structured so that a final cert denial would automatically mature Carroll's right to receive the funds [1]. Trump's reconsideration option is narrow. The Supreme Court grants reconsideration of cert denials in rare circumstances, and such motions do not stay underlying proceedings absent a separate court order [2]. Without a stay, Judge Lewis Kaplan faces a pending disbursement motion with no outstanding appellate obstacle.
The collection motion carries significance beyond the dollar amount. It represents the first instance in which a sitting president faces court-compelled payment of a civil judgment to an adversary, a posture that no prior administration has encountered [1]. The four-year litigation arc, spanning the original verdict, post-trial motions, the Second Circuit, and two trips to the Supreme Court's docket, has produced a final judgment that Carroll's attorneys now argue is ripe for immediate enforcement [2].
Judge Lewis Kaplan must now rule on the disbursement motion. Trump's team may seek an emergency stay in either the district court or the Second Circuit while pursuing reconsideration at the Supreme Court, though no such application had been publicly filed as of the date of this report [1] [2]. Carroll's attorneys have signaled they will oppose any further delay.