The second US circuit court of appeals was divided late on Wednesday in its decision, ultimately, to reject proceeding to a so-called en banc hearing, a rare meeting of all of its judges to consider a conclusion.

The development came almost 18 months after Trump appealed, shortly after winning election to a second term in the White House, to the US supreme court against a decision by a separate jury. That jury awarded $5m to Carroll after concluding that Trump had sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in New York in 1996 and, much later, defamed her.

The highest US court has not yet declared whether it will be willing to hear the case. Lawyers for the US president did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement that her client was “eager for this case, originally filed in 2019, to be over so that she can finally obtain justice”.