Litigation
Nov. 22, 2016
Plaintiffs' attorneys forgo fees in $25M settlement with Trump
The agreement resolves three lawsuits involving the president-elect's now defunct Trump University.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO — The plaintiffs' attorneys who helped achieve a $25 million settlement with President-elect Donald J. Trump to resolve three cases involving alleged fraud at the now-defunct Trump University said they agreed not to receive a penny for their efforts.
The lawyers said Friday afternoon that their decision to forgo fees for several years of work will enable thousands of former Trump University students to recoup at least 50 percent, and potentially up to 100 percent, of refunds sought.
"We waived our attorney's fees for the six and a half years of litigation so they could get a significant recovery in this matter," said plaintiffs' attorney Patrick J. Coughlin, of counsel at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP in San Diego.
Robbins Geller partner Jason A. Forge, one of the lead plaintiffs' counsel in the Trump University cases in California, said the scale of the refunds received by the consumers involved would likely be unprecedented for a class action.
Rachel L. Jensen, another attorney for former Trump University students, told the Daily Journal that larger forces were also at play in the decision to not seek fees as part of the settlement. "I'm glad we did it for the nation," said Jensen, a partner at Robbins Geller.
The trial in one of two pending federal lawsuits in San Diego had been set to start Nov. 28 and Trump was expected to testify as a named defendant. Low v. Trump University LLC, 10-CV0940 (S.D. Cal., filed April 30, 2010).
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel vacated the trial date after being informed during a hearing Friday about the settlement.
While the plaintiffs' attorneys represented the class pro bono, Jensen did say they would seek up to $1 million in expenses for their work on the California cases.
Daniel M. Petrocelli of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Trump's lead attorney in the Trump University cases, said the willingness of the plaintiffs' lawyers not to seek fees was helpful in reaching resolution.
"It certainly made it easier because there are limits to our ability to get a settlement done," Petrocelli said.
But when asked by a Daily Journal reporter whether he also would forgo compensation for his work, Petrocelli smiled. "No, I don't work on a pro bono basis," he said, prompting laughter.
He highlighted during the court hearing that neither Trump nor the other defendants admitted any wrongdoing or liability as part of the settlement.
Curiel directed that a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement agreement be filed by Dec. 19.
The plaintiffs in the case that was the subject of the hearing on Friday accused Trump University of having been more of an infomercial than a program that provided students with guidance on how to make money through real estate investing. Some of the former students had spent upwards of $35,000 on seminars.
The plaintiffs in a second case before Curiel that was part of the settlement had alleged Trump was part of a racketeering scheme through Trump University. Cohen v. Trump, 13-CV02519, (S.D. Cal., filed Oct. 18, 2013).
The settlement also covered a fraud suit that the New York Attorney General's Office filed in 2013 against Trump and Trump University. Of the overall settlement, $4 million will go to address the New York claims, according to plaintiffs' attorneys.
Lyle Moran
lyle_moran@dailyjournal.com
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