No money or other property has been "posted." Chubb (actually its subsidiary, Federal Insurance Company) has filed its undertaking to be "firmly bound" to pay the amount of the judgement and accrued interest, up to the "Maximum Penal Sum, $91,630,000, in the event Trump loses his appeal.
There is a 15-day window for Trump to pay the judgment himself before Carroll can seek payment from Federal. Sometimes it's more convenient, e.g., for tax or contractual reasons, for a judgment-debtor to raise the money separately instead of allowing the collateral to be foreclosed.
<taps the sign> The surety business is not at all like property insurance. Surety companies are not engaged in a risk-arbitrage business based on their assessment of the strength of the appeal. Judgment bonds are fully collateralized, which means that every penny of what Federal will pay come from Trump's pocket.*Is it more like an insurance policy that Trump took out, and, if he loses, the policy from Chubb will pay, and he is just out the premium he paid?
Trump could choose to pay the judgment, to avoid foreclosure of the collateral (see above). But Trump pocket the premium? No. The premium is not refundable under any ordinary circumstance.**Or does Trump have to pay the judgement from his own assets, letting Chubb off the hook and pocketing the premium he paid.
See above: it's a binding contract. Federal Insurance Company's surety business is regulated by the Treasury Department. If it doesn't pay, it's out of business.For that matter, did Chubb have to actually deposit the $94M with the court, or is it just a binding contract to pay, in the event the OSG loses?
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* Federal's 2% premium compensates it for taking the small risk that something funky might happen to the collateral, in this case, the assets in Trump's Charles Schwab account.
** Hard to imagine what could lead to a claim for return of premium. Insurance companies occasionally go out of business on account of insider fraud, and that's a circumstance that could lead to claims for return of premiums, claims that would likely be uncollectible.