Trump University lawsuits settled for $25M

Trump attorney Daniel Petrocelli said Friday that Trump was determined to resolve the controversy. The amount was later bumped up to $25 million in a follow-up confirmation made by Reuters. Trump agreed Friday to pay $25 million to settle.

In a statement, a Trump Organization spokesman said the company is “pleased to announce the complete resolution of all litigation involving Trump University”.

The fates of the NY case and the two California suits are closely linked because they were all brought on behalf of an overlapping pool of former Trump University customers, said the person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations. He said Trump should try to “make the American people feel comfortable” by rescinding Bannon’s nomination. “All will go to the students”, said San Diego plaintiffs attorney Jason Forge.

Curiel said he hoped the settlement could be part of a healing process after the USA election “that this country very sorely needs”.

The agreement came 10 days before jury selection was scheduled to begin in San Diego in the oldest case, which was filed in April 2010.

This approach, as Trump noted on the campaign trail, allowed his company to avoid admission of wrongdoing.

Mr Trump said at the time: “I could have settled this case numerous times but I don’t want to settle cases when we’re right”. I don’t believe in it.

“I don’t settle cases”, he told MSNBC, later adding, “You know what happens?” “I don’t get sued because I don’t settle cases”.

As of Friday evening, Trump had yet to respond to news of the $25 million settlement, preferring to tweet out messages about his weekend schedule, and about a “one hour special on me and my life”.

A USA federal judge in California had been set on Friday to consider arguments on Mr Trump’s latest request to delay a trial until after Mr Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

It was a remarkable concession from a real estate mogul who derides legal settlements and has mocked fellow businessmen who agree to them.

The deal would keep the president-elect from having to testify in a trial that was set to begin November 28.

An employee guide submitted as evidence in the lawsuit show that Trump University staff were encouraged to use high-pressure sales tactics on potential customers.

The university was said to have “preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money”. They led to one of the more controversial moments of his run when he claimed the judge overseeing two of the cases was biased because he was of Mexican ancestry.

Class attorney Rachel Jensen said the students can finally “pay off their credit cards and move on with their lives”. The plaintiffs’ attorneys waived their fees. “Today, that all changes”, Mr Schneiderman said in a statement. “President-elect Trump is keenly interested in tackling the problems of our country and moving forward”.