Judge tells Trump University litigants
they would be wise to settle
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[November 11, 2016]
By Dan Levine and Karen Freifeld
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The U.S. judge
overseeing a lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump and his Trump
University told both sides they would be wise to settle the case "given
all else that's involved."
Lawyers for the president-elect are squaring off against students who
claim they were they were lured by false promises to pay up to $35,000
to learn Trump's real estate investing "secrets" from his "hand-picked"
instructors.
Earlier on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel tentatively
rejected a bid by Trump to keep a wide range of statements from the
presidential campaign out of the fraud trial.
Trump owned 92 percent of Trump University and had control over all
major decisions, the students' court papers say. The president-elect
denies the allegations and has argued that he relied on others to manage
the business.
Trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 28, and Curiel told lawyers he was not
inclined to delay the six-year-old case further. Trump lawyer Daniel
Petrocelli said he would ask to put the trial on hold until early next
year, in light of the many tasks the magnate has before his
inauguration.
Curiel said he would allow both sides to file briefs on whether to delay
the case. He also indicated they should consider making a deal.
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"It would be wise for the plaintiffs, for the defendants, to look
closely at trying to resolve this case given all else that’s involved,”
Curiel said.
Petrocelli told reporters after the hearing that Trump might have to be
a "little more flexible" about settling the case now that he is
president-elect, although the lawyer wasn't sure his client would was
willing.
Curiel said that he would allow Trump to testify via video given his
presidential obligations.
In the tentative ruling Curiel, based in San Diego, said Trump's lawyers
can renew objections to specific campaign statements and evidence during
trial. Trump's attorneys had argued that jurors should not hear about
statements Trump made during the campaign, including about Curiel
himself.
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President-elect Donald Trump addresses supporters as members of his
family look on at his election night rally in Manhattan, New York,
U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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Trump attacked the judge as biased against him. He claimed Curiel,
who was born in Indiana but is of Mexican descent, could not be
impartial because of Trump's pledge to build a wall between the
United States and Mexico.
Trump's lawyers argued that Curiel should bar from the trial
accusations about Trump's personal conduct including alleged sexual
misconduct, his taxes and corporate bankruptcies, along with
speeches and tweets. They argued the information is irrelevant to
the jury and prejudicial to the case.
In court papers, lawyers for the students claimed that Trump's
statements would help jurors as they weigh the Republican's
credibility.
"Defendants have not identified specific evidence that they wish to
exclude," Curiel wrote on Thursday. "Accordingly, the court declines
to issue a blanket ruling at this time."
The judge also barred Trump lawyers from telling jurors that the
university had a 98 percent approval rate on student evaluations.
That rating is irrelevant as to whether Trump University
misrepresented itself, Curiel wrote.
Curiel is presiding over two cases against Trump and the university.
A separate lawsuit by New York's attorney general is pending.
(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Diego and Karen Freifeld in New
York; Editing by Peter Henderson and Cynthia Osterman)
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