(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's dispute with a former campaign staffer over the enforceability of a non-disclosure agreement will be decided in private arbitration.
Jessica Denson, a Los Angeles-based actress who worked on Trump's campaign in August 2016, sued in federal court to void her NDA in order to pursue a separate state lawsuit in which she claims she was harassed and defamed by her superiors.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman said whether the agreement is enforceable falls under the scope of the pact's arbitration clause. Earlier this month, a state court judge denied the Trump campaign's request to compel arbitration in the harassment lawsuit.
“The motion by defendant to compel arbitration is denied. The cross-motion by plaintiff, who is self-represented, to amend her complaint is granted.” Judge denies Trump campaign's attempt to use NDA to force my employment case into secret arbitration.https://t.co/UWkTwI3Sq7
Denson sued in state court in November seeking $25 million in damages for the alleged harassment and defamation. The Trump campaign responded with an attempt to move the lawsuit to arbitration, where it submitted a claim for $1.5 million saying Denson breached the confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations of the NDA.
The case is Denson v. Donald J. Trump for President Inc., 18-cv-2690, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider
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