President-Elect Donald Trump has agreed to pay $25 million to put an end to the class-action lawsuit filed against his defunct university, in a settlement reached this week before the U.S. district Court for the Southern District of California.
Under the settlement, nearly 6,000 students will be eligible for refunds of at least half – and possibly all – of the money they spent on the real estate seminars.
Trump has also been ordered to pay $1 million to the State of New York for having used the term “university”, in spite of the fact that his institution was not registered as such.
Under the terms, the President-elect admits no wrongdoing in settling the suits. Daniel Petrocelli, Trump’s lead attorney, expressed that his client decided to settle and cancel the trial scheduled to start next week to focus his time on the transition process. “[Trump] just wants to put all his time, energy, and talent into resolving the country’s issues, and he was willing to sacrifice his personal interests, put this behind him, and move forward,” said Petrocelli during a press conference.
In documents filed before the court, the plaintiffs alleged that Trump University had charged them as much as $35,000 for courses in which they would supposedly learn the secrets to the now President-elect’s success in the real estate business, but instead got what amounted to “infomercials” that were far from what was promised.
Just outside the court where the hearing was held, while a group of protesters expressed their discontent with the fact that the President-elect is mixed up in legal controversies, the legal counsel for the plaintiffs said they were pleased with the results, which will enable their clients to get at least some of their money back.
“It is really a great result, said Jason Forge, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, “anyone who enrolled in his school and wants their money back will get at least half, if not all, of their money back.”
“We are pleased to resolve this case in favor of our clients and allow them to move on with their lives,” added Rachel Jensen, also an attorney for the plaintiffs.
As part of the settlement, the attorneys agreed to not make any money on the case, all will go to the students.