President Donald Trump has quietly paid the $25 million settlement for the three Trump University lawsuits in San Diego and New York. Former students were given a March 6 deadline to submit their claims.
Trump actually paid the $25 million several days before he was sworn in as president. Trump lawyers and attorneys for the former students in the class action lawsuit reached the $25 million settlement Nov. 18.
His attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, filed a notice to U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel that says Trump has fulfilled all the requirements in the settlement agreement that stated Trump must pay up by Jan. 18.
All former students who wish to participate in the settlement must submit an online claim before March 6 to the Web site trumpuniversitylitigation.com.
Curiel set formal approval of the settlement March 30 at 1 p.m. in the old federal courthouse at 221 W. Broadway. Former students who don’t like the settlement may write the judge to seek permission to speak by March 6, according to the online claim form.
There are an estimated 6,000 or more former students who attended three-day seminars, workshops, or other learning experiences regarding real estate that were held in San Diego hotel rooms in 2010 and 2011. No one who submits a claim needs to attend the hearing.
Some students were encouraged to charge the seminars onto credit cards, and some paid up to $35,000 for the courses. Others paid up to $10,000 or less, and attorneys said everyone who attended Trump University will get paid something back.
Excerpts from Trump’s deposition Dec. 10, 2015, are on the Web site. Plaintiff attorney Jason Forge repeatedly asked Trump if he knew any of the speakers at Trump University which were supposed to have been “hand- picked” by him.
Trump said some of the names of people he heard sounded familiar, but he could not remember anything about them, often saying “too many years” have gone by.
“I looked at resumes and things, but I didn’t pick the speakers,” Trump said in the deposition.
Forge showed photos of the instructors to Trump, but he did not recognize anyone. Forge also played video clips by instructors, but Trump didn’t remember them, according to the transcript.
The settlement included $4 million to New York former students as the actual settlement of the two San Diego lawsuits is $21 million.
