Summer Zervos attended a hearing Tuesday at the Manhattan State Supreme Court ... flanked by her lawyer, Gloria Allred. Trump's lawyers argued for the case to be dismissed, while Zervos' team worked on where and how to get the Prez on the stand.

As we reported ... Zervos sued Trump back in January, claiming he defamed her when he publicly called her a liar and referred to her allegation as "totally made up nonsense."

Summer appeared on season 5 of "The Apprentice," and alleges Trump assaulted her during a meeting at the Beverly Hills Hotel about working for him. She claims he open-mouth kissed her, grabbed her breasts and asked her to lay in bed to watch TV.

Zervos and Allred were surrounded by reporters outside the courthouse as they left.