March 31 (UPI) — A federal judge in San Diego on Friday approved a proposal to settle two civil lawsuits and a fraud case against President Donald Trump‘s defunct for-profit educational real estate venture, Trump University, brought by former students.
Judge Gonzalo Curiel greenlit the deal a day after he delayed his ruling to allow more time to consider the proposal.
Attorneys for the more than 3,700 former students in class-action suits in California and New York had urged Curiel to ratify the settlement, which refund them more than 90 cents for every dollar they spent at Trump University — arguing it’s probably the best restitution they will ever get in the years-long dispute.
“The amount offered in settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable,” the judge wrote in his 31-page decision.
The deal also settles a 2013 fraud suit by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
“Today’s final approval by a judge of our Trump University settlement will provide relief — and hopefully much-needed closure — to the victims of Donald Trump’s fraudulent university,” Schneiderman said in a statement Friday. “Trump University’s victims waited years for compensation, while President Trump refused to settle and fought us every step of the way.
“I am pleased that we were able to ensure that members of the class action settlement will receive an even higher settlement than originally anticipated.”
Curiel made his ruling over the objection of one Florida student, Sherri Simpson, who filed a late objection asking the judge to reject the deal so that she can sue Trump in criminal court on federal racketeering charges — and receive restitution three times the amount she spent. The judge did not finalize the agreement on Thursday to further consider Simpson’s position.
Simpson had filed a notice with the court in 2015 advising the students in the class-action suits they could opt out of the suit in the event of a settlement to preserve their legal options against Trump. The students’ lawyers, though, dismissed the notice due to what they said was confusing legal language.
“We believe we could do a lot better in trial,” Simpson’s attorney Gary Friedman said Thursday while the judge was still considering her objection. “The trial we are seeking is under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, damages are tripled. So for every one dollar of loss you are getting an additional three dollars.”
One attorney for the plaintiffs, though, called Friedman’s “an outrageous position.”
The settlement ends nearly five months of legal limbo. Both sides agreed to the $25 million deal in November but the case languished while Curiel weighed whether or not to approve it.
Trump initially filed an unsuccessful countersuit after the complaint was first filed in 2010, the same year the training program went bankrupt, and the ordeal became a topic of debate during the real estate magnate’s 16-month White House bid.
Settling the lawsuits means Trump can no longer be sued by any of the program’s former students. However, the thousands of former pupils may still not see any money for a while. Curiel’s ruling is subject to appeal, which could drag out the resolution for years.
