Summer Zervos’ (right) lead attorney, Gloria Allred (left), did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appeal. She told POLITICO last month she was "very happy" with the ruling. | Mary Altaffer/AP Photo Trump appeals New York ruling that let Zervos suit move forward

Lawyers for President Donald Trump are seeking an appeal after a judge last month refused to dismiss a lawsuit by a former "Apprentice" contestant who says Trump groped and kissed her following her appearance on the reality-TV show.

Trump's attorneys filed court papers over the weekend to appeal the New York court decision that allows Summer Zervos to proceed with her lawsuit, in which she says Trump defamed her by denying her account of their encounters.


Trump's legal team said it plans to challenge "each and every part" of state Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Schecter's March 20 ruling, which rejects Trump's claims that he is immune from state-court lawsuits while serving as president. Schecter also declined to put the case on ice while Trump is in office.

"The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution bars state courts from exercising jurisdicition over a sitting president for reasons of federalism, comity and local prejudice," Trump attorneys Marc Kasowitz, Christine Montenegro and Paul Burgo wrote in the appeal notice dated Sunday. The lawyers also argue that Trump's denial of Zervos' story cannot be fodder for a lawsuit because the statement came as part of a political campaign.

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The Trump team's legal filing also asserts that Zervos and her attorneys "have stated repeatedly that the true object of this lawsuit is political."

At a news conference a few weeks before the 2016 presidential election, Zervos claimed that Trump groped her breast and repeatedly kissed her in 2007 as she was seeking work opportunities a couple of years after being “fired” from “The Apprentice." She said she chose to speak out only after Trump’s recorded comments to “Access Hollywood” emerged and he denied a flurry of charges from more than a dozen women.

Zervos' lead attorney, Gloria Allred, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appeal. She told POLITICO last month she was "very happy" with Schecter's ruling.

The appeal will be heard by the First Department of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court. The process is expected to take months or more. Trump's attorneys have said they will seek to put the case on hold during the appeal, but it is unclear whether that request will be granted.

