--- title: This Former 'Apprentice' Contestant is Suing President Trump description: Summer Zervos' lawsuit against Donald Trump raises a key question: Can you bring a civil lawsuit in state court against the President? canonical: https://time.com/5066106/donald-trump-civil-lawsuit-state-court-summer-zervos/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-15T17:21:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:50.937Z article:section: Politics og:title: Can a Former Apprentice Contestant Sue President Trump? og:description: Legal experts disagree. og:url: https://time.com/5066106/donald-trump-civil-lawsuit-state-court-summer-zervos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2647d1fcc5d24d76/6988f32586f68e54306e766a/881225878.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: President Trump Meets With Congressional Leadership At The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Can a Former Apprentice Contestant Sue President Trump? twitter:description: Legal experts disagree. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2647d1fcc5d24d76/6988f32586f68e54306e766a/881225878.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Can a Former Apprentice Contestant Sue President Trump? Legal Experts Disagree > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: How The Apprentice Shaped Donald Trump's Presidential Campaign [Watch (HLS stream): How The Apprentice Shaped Donald Trump's Presidential Campaign](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nKdWhDbl.m3u8) (1:40)  _Published 2016-06-21. Before he was the presumptive Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump leveraged his famous name as the host of the NBC reality series The Apprentice._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 15, 2017 5:21 PM UTC  President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Nov. 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Nov. 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/Pool—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 15, 2017 5:21 PM UTC Summer Zervos, a former _Apprentice_ contestant who claims Donald Trump [sexually assaulted](http://time.com/5058646/donald-trump-accusers/) her in 2007, is suing the president in state court for defamation. But now that Trump is in the White House, the suit raises an important new question: can someone bring a civil lawsuit in state court against the President of the United States? Trump’s lawyers say no. “State court can’t exercise any control over the president under any circumstances,” Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz [argued in New York state court](https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sexual-misconduct/trump-lawyer-argues-president-can-t-be-sued-state-court-n826831) in early December. The motion to dismiss the case, Kasowitz continued, is about “protecting the ability of the president to do his constitutionally mandated job.” In court filings, Trump’s team has cited the Supreme Court’s 1982 decision in [_Nixon v. Fitzgerald_](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/457/731#writing-USSC%5FCR%5F0457%5F0731%5FZO), which held that the president has “absolute immunity” from being held liable for damages in civil lawsuits for conduct within the “outer perimeter” of his official presidential duties. “Because of the singular importance of the President’s duties,” the decision reads, “diversion of his energies by concern with private lawsuits would raise unique risks to the effective functioning of government.” This is a key element of Trump’s lawyers’ argument for why he can’t be sued in state court. But there are limits to the holding in _Nixon v. Fitzgerald_ as it’s concerned here: the case only applied to civil suits in federal court, not state court, and only to civil suits related to official actions as president, not personal conduct. Zervos is seeking an apology and at least $2,914 in damages from Trump in the [lawsuit](https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=dYwlzFeeBv7mf3k4B/kysA==&system=prod) she filed, which states that she “has suffered as a direct result of Mr. Trump’s false, defamatory statements, both emotionally and financially.” During the presidential campaign, Trump said Zervos and other women who accused him of sexual misconduct were lying and suggested Hillary Clinton’s campaign brought them forward. It’s a later Supreme Court case, 1997’s [_Clinton v. Jones_](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/520/681#writing-USSC%5FCR%5F0520%5F0681%5FZO), that introduces private acts to the patchwork of laws on presidents and civil lawsuits. This time, 15 years after the prior decision, facing a case in which former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones accused President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment, the Supreme Court said the _Nixon v. Fitzgerald_ ruling on immunity from civil damages did not apply to “unofficial conduct” by the president. “We have never suggested that the President, or any other official, has an immunity that extends beyond the scope of any action taken in an official capacity,” the Court held. “The litigation of questions that relate entirely to the unofficial conduct of the individual who happens to be the President poses no perceptible risk of misallocation of either judicial power or executive power.” This decision is good for Zervos’ team, ruling definitively that presidents can be sued while in office for private conduct. “_Clinton v. Jones_ makes clear that this Defendant is not entitled to qualified immunity — or any other species of official acts \[of\] immunity — because this case involved unofficial conduct by Defendant before he assumed office,” Zervos’ lawyers said in a court filing earlier this year. “Precisely because Defendant’s underlying tortious behavior has nothing to do with his current duties or office, and because it occurred before he took that office, he does not have immunity from suit.” But again, there’s a critical unanswered question in the _Clinton v. Jones_ opinion: that case only applies to litigation in federal court, and did not decide the issue of whether a civil suit can be brought against a sitting president in state court. In fact, the Supreme Court made it an explicit point not to rule on that question, explaining that state court suits could raise different legal questions than the ones decided in _Clinton v. Jones_. “Because the Supremacy Clause makes federal law “the supreme Law of the Land,” any direct control by a state court over the President, who has principal responsibility to ensure that those laws are ‘faithfully executed,’ may implicate concerns that are quite different from the interbranch separation of powers questions addressed here,” the majority opinion notes in a footnote. The power difference between state and federal court arises in part from the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which establishes that federal law is supreme and prohibits states from interfering in federal functions. But in civil suits, “there’s no absolute immunity from being sued in state court for a president,” explains Samuel Issacharoff, constitutional law professor at New York University Law School. He gives the example of if a president and his or her spouse wanted to get a divorce while in office — that would be handled in state court. “Divorce matrimonial matters are not actionable in federal court, and it is inconceivable that we would make \[the spouse\] wait four or eight years \[to get a divorce\],” Issacharoff says. “The ordinary conduct of the life of the president as an individual may give rise to legal issues, and we’ve never said that there’s immunity from that.” And some legal experts think that footnote was merely standard practice by the Supreme Court to limit the scope of its ruling on a constitutional issue, and that there’s no reason to think the Court wouldn’t have decided the case the same way had it been a state court in question. “There’s nothing in the opinion that would militate heavily against the same type of process in state court,” says George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley. “Indeed, one could argue that the federal system has a greater likelihood to recognize a form of immunity than the state system. Under federalism principles, these are two different systems, and the state system has its own independent authority and right to pursue defendants.” So as it stands now, Trump cannot be held liable for civil damages in conduct related to his presidential powers, but he can be held liable in federal court for civil damages related to his personal conduct before he became president. And if any presidency will lead to a clear decision on whether he can be subject to a civil suit on personal conduct in state court, there’s good reason to think it might be Trump’s. “President Trump came to office dragging a long chain of existing civil lawsuits,” says Turley. “No president has come to office with as much experience as a litigant as President Trump.” ## Transcript HOW DID DONALD TRUMP'S TIME ON THE APPRENTICE SHAPE HIS PRESIDENTIAL RUN? When The Apprentice came on the air in 2004, it was practically an instant hit. The concept of The Apprentice, where candidates were trying to impress a boss and ultimately get a job was perfect for a boom time economy. On The Apprentice, Donald Trump's role was that of an instigator and a judge. During the episode, contestants went head- to- head on different business tasks while he was not really involved. Then at the end, he was the one who ultimately chose who would stay and who would be fired. You're all fired. All four are fired. Often times, he kept on very dramatic, because it's possibly past their prime. The famous example being, Omarosa, the dramatic Whitehouse former employee. I was successful again and again and again. And it works for me. This didn't carry her into the winner's circle, but it carried her pretty far. So if you think about Donald Trump skipping a debate who was being co- moderated by his then nemesis, Meghan Kelly When did you actually become a Republican? [ SOUND ] You see a lot of The Apprentice DNA in him. He was making an event all about his strength and his power, in the same way that he long encouraged Apprentice candidates to do. It was about shaking things up and proving that he had a new vision, even when that vision was really self- glorifying. I feel a little bit foolish, People are offering me millions and millions of dollars. You know when you; re in first place, you can collect so much money. It seems like a winning formula, be willing to insult and deride in order to get ahead and people won't stop watching. Get him out please. [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5066106/donald-trump-civil-lawsuit-state-court-summer-zervos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5066106/donald-trump-civil-lawsuit-state-court-summer-zervos/"},"headline":"Can a Former Apprentice Contestant Sue President Trump? 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