Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
While Stormy Daniels has been dominating headlines since news broke of her alleged affair with Donald Trump when his wife was recovering from having given birth to their son, another woman from Trump’s past is also refusing to let him forget about the misdeeds he allegedly committed with her. The main difference being that, while Daniels was a willing participant in her alleged affair with Trump, Summer Zevos alleges Trump’s advances on her were unwelcome, unsolicited, and were committed during what she had been led to believe would be a business meeting.
Zervos was initially a contestant on Trump’s show, The Apprentice. Although she didn’t make it to the end of the season, Zervos said she was invited to meet with Trump at the Beverly Hills Hotel so she could pitch some of her business ideas to him. That’s when he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
Like many other women, Zervos went public with her experiences during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump followed in the footsteps of countless other men accused of sexual misconduct, not only by accusing Zervos of lying but by trying to degrade her character in general. In the age-old he said/she said debate, discrediting the woman is a classic tactic and Trump is hardly the first to use it. He’s also far from the first person to get away with it.
But Zervos is firing back. She sued Trump for defamation of character in Manhattan.
Trump, who has clearly shown again and again that he has no idea what it means to be president of the United States, displayed his ignorance yet again by claiming that a sitting president could not be sued in civil litigation in a state court while serving his term as president. Not only are the facts against Trump, but so are the judges. Three times Trump’s attorneys have filed motions to stay the case until after he has completed his term as president, and each time the judges have denied those motions. Trump’s attorneys have appealed that decision all the way up to the New York Supreme Court, which also denied the motion.
Not only did Justice Jennifer Schecter of the New York Supreme Court refuse the request to delay the trial, but she also issued a court order for Trump to give his deposition in the case before January 31st, 2019.
That said, Trump does have the option of taking the decision all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If it were to agree to hear the case, its decision, either way, would be the final word on the matter.
None of this is to say there has been any judgment regarding whether Trump defamed Zervos, much less whether he sexually assaulted her back in 2007. So far, the judges have only ruled on whether Trump can delay the case until after he has finished serving his term as president, and all the judges have agreed that he cannot. Whether his comments against Zervos meet the requirements of defamation remains to be seen, but thanks to the courts’ rulings, we’ll no doubt get an answer to that question within the next year, if not earlier.
Our Naperville, IL libel, and slander lawyers concentrate in this area of the law. We have defended or prosecuted a number of defamation and libel cases, including cases representing a consumer sued by a large luxury used car dealer in federal court for hundreds of negative internet reviews and videos which resulted in substantial media coverage of the suit; one of Loyola University’s largest contributors when the head basketball coach sued him for libel after he was fired; and a lawyer who was falsely accused of committing fraud with the false allegation published to the Dean of the University of Illinois School of Law, where the lawyer attended law school and the President of the University of Illinois. One of our partners also participated in representing a high profile athlete against a well-known radio shock jock.
Our Chicago defamation attorneys defend individuals’ First Amendment and free speech rights to post on Facebook, Yelp and other websites information that criticizes businesses and addresses matters of public concern. Our Chicago Cybersquatting attorneys also represent and prosecute claims on behalf of businesses throughout the Chicago area including in Wheaton and Geneva who have been unfairly and falsely criticized by consumers and competitors in defamatory publications in the online and offline media. We have successfully represented businesses who have been the victim of competitors setting up false rating sites and pretend consumer rating sites that are simply forums to falsely bash or business clients. We have also represented and defended consumers First Amendment and free speech rights to criticize businesses who are guilty of consumer fraud and false advertising.
Super Lawyers named Chicago and Oak Brook business trial attorney Peter Lubin a Super Lawyer in the Categories of Class Action, Business Litigation, and Consumer Rights Litigation. Lubin Austermuehle’s Oak Brook and Chicago business trial lawyers have over thirty years of experience in litigating complex class action, consumer rights, and business and commercial litigation disputes. We handle emergency business lawsuits involving injunctions, and TROS, defamation, libel, and covenant not to compete, franchise, distributor and dealer wrongful termination and trade secret lawsuits and many different kinds of business disputes involving shareholders, partnerships, closely held businesses and employee breaches of fiduciary duty. We also assist businesses and business owners who are victims of fraud or defamatory attacks on their business and reputations.
Lubin Austermuehle’s DuPage County defamation and slander lawyers near Oak Brook have more than three decades of experience helping business clients unravel the complexities of Illinois and out-of-state business laws. Our Chicago business litigation lawyers represent individuals, family businesses and enterprises of all sizes in a variety of legal disputes, including disputes among partners and shareholders as well as lawsuits between businesses and consumer rights, auto fraud, and wage claim individual and class action cases. In every case, our goal is to resolve disputes as quickly and successfully as possible, helping business clients protect their investments and get back to business as usual. From offices in Oak Brook, near Plainfield and Aurora, we serve clients throughout Illinois and the Midwest. For a free consultation, you can contact us locally at 630-333-0333 or online.