It took seven years, but on March 31 U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel of San Diego granted final approval of a $25 million settlement reached by Forge and his Robbins Geller colleagues with President Donald J. Trump's defense team to avoid a civil fraud trial over the Trump University real estate seminar program.
"It wasn't the kind of thing they could swat away," Forge said of the likely motivation behind the other side's decision to settle, which came just weeks after the election last November and despite Trump's repeated vows not to settle the case. The litigation was notable for Trump's 2016 attack on the judge's pretrial rulings. Trump accused Curiel of bias based on his Hispanic heritage, calling him "Spanish" despite his Indiana birthplace.
"I've never experienced anything like this case," Forge said of the way the litigation proceeded in the glare of a presidential campaign and Trump's outsize personality. "It was surreal." Low v. Trump University LLC et al., 10-cv-0940 (S.D. Cal., filed April 30, 2010).
For his part, Curiel called the settlement "extraordinary" and "all the more exceptional when viewed in light of the risk" of continued litigation. The judge also highlighted Robbins Geller's decision to represent the class of students pro bono.
"Class Counsel's exceptional decision to provide nearly seven years of legal services to Class Members on a pro bono basis evidences not only a lack of collusion, but also that Class Counsel are in fact representing the best interests of Plaintiffs and the Class Members in this Settlement," the judge wrote. "Instead of seeking compensation for fees and costs that they would otherwise be entitled to, Class Counsel have acted to allow maximum recovery to Plaintiffs and Class Members."
Curiel pointed out that eligible class members may receive recovery of 90 percent or greater of the fees they paid the now-defunct school. He called it "a testament to Class Counsel's representation and dedication to act in their clients' best interest." Individual class members will be eligible for upward of $35,000 in restitution each.
There's no doubt, Forge said, that the resolution was justified. "It was in the best interest of the class and the country," he said. "We really did not want this to be a huge national distraction for years."
The case itself was relatively straightforward, said Forge, a former federal prosecutor who in 2005 successfully obtained a guilty plea from former U.S. Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham on charges including conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. "I've done high-profile cases before."
Even so, Forge said the Trump hoopla could have been destructive. "There was an almost overwhelming temptation to try it in the press. My coping mechanism was a self-imposed ban on media. No TV, and I wasn't clicking on internet headlines. I was like George Costanza when he gave up sex [in the "Seinfeld" sitcom]. That made all the difference, and the pressure wasn't an issue."
— John Roemer
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