Federal court approves $25 million Trump University settlement

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last updated 7 February 2018

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals finalized Tuesday a $25 million settlement for students who say they were swindled by the now-defunct Trump University.

The settlement can go forward now that the court rejected an appeal by a Florida woman who wanted out of the class-action suit so she could file a separate lawsuit against President Trump.

Students say Trump University promised them they would learn all about Trump's success in real estate and the ins and outs of the industry, but this was false advertisement and they were pushed instead into signing up for several very expensive courses. It started with free workshops, but they were then pressured to enroll in pricey seminars — a "one-year apprenticeship" cost $1,495, while a "membership" was more than $10,000 and "Gold Elite" courses were $35,000, NBC News reports.

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Lawsuits were filed in New York and California, and after the 2016 presidential election they were combined into one class action. Trump had said he would fight the lawsuits but settled after the election, and he paid the $25 million judgment last year; it has been held in escrow ever since. The court estimates that students will receive about 80 to 90 percent of what they spent on Trump University classes.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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