“There may also be a federal ex post facto law challenge. The state retroactively changed the statute of limitations on these suits.”
The change in the statute of limitations applied only to her claim of sexual assault. She also claimed defamation, based on Trump’s recent statements. Those claims were timely, based on the previously established statute of limitations.
The distinction is important because this second judgment, the much bigger one, is entirely for defamation (the first judgment partially so). If a federal court takes the drastic step of nullifying a state law, it would reduce the first judgment from $5 million to $3 million. There would be no effect on the second judgment. Trump would still owe upwards of $80 million.
Since the findings of the first trial were not allowed to be disputed, the second trial would need to be reheard.