Trump University fraud case settled for $25 million

Originally posted by Suzianne
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-settles-trump-university-lawsuits-for-25-million-215707514.html


Looks like money wins again. Three lawsuits settled with this one decision. Another bullet dodged by the man with teflon armor.

"With no admission of wrong-doing." Money makes right. Money can do anything. It even bought a Presidency.

Yeah. I'm not sure what to think of the dealings being used for lesser sentences or the buying off of court cases.

It would seem that a crime cannot then be judged objectively.

Did person A do X?
No: not guilty
Yes: guilty and then the judge gives a set sentence which the judge can adjust according to circumstances.

What seems to be happening is that deals are made before the judge passes sentence. That cannot be right.

Surely! Or am I missing something?

Originally posted by shavixmir
Yeah. I'm not sure what to think of the dealings being used for lesser sentences or the buying off of court cases.

It would seem that a crime cannot then be judged objectively.

Did person A do X?
No: not guilty
Yes: guilty and then the judge gives a set sentence which the judge can adjust according to circumstances.

What seems to be happening is ...[text shortened]... de before the judge passes sentence. That cannot be right.

Surely! Or am I missing something?

What is commonly known as the legal system in our country is a sheer garment of jargon seductively draped over a rotting carcass and skeletal bones of greed.
The one mantra for all of the practioners: billable hours.
In cases when the outcome is questionable, or if the result if tried will likely be within a reasonable amount of a settlement figure, the one bringing the charge is more likely to settle out of court to avoid the work.
It should be noted that Trump has settled a paltry amount of times in comparison to suits or claims against him.
As a business owner, he realizes the treachery of claims and has done a pretty remarkable job of balancing when to fight (and overwhelmingly win) and when to settle for the purposes of opportunity costs, among other things.

In this case--- as in nearly all class action lawsuits--- was after money.
Some also seek policy alterations to go along with compensation, but this one was alleging racketeering fraud while simply attempting to extract money with the claims.
The court-appointed firm, Zeldes Haeggquist & Eck, agreed to waive their fees so that, according to their statement, more would go to the members of the suit.
That's the ol' partial truth syndrome that is such an integral aspect of being an attorney.
They know perfectly well the advertising such a high profile is worth many times over the ~$6.2M they would have profited from the settlement conditions.
Even when they're handing out charity, they're asking for a receipt...

Originally posted by sh76
You also know perfectly well it's not an admission of guilt as you also know that most settlements specifically disclaim an admission of guilt or liability.

The judgment is that the settlement about needs to be paid; nothing more. It's not a finding of fault.

Let's be serious; a settlement where the defendant agrees to reimburse virtually all monies spent by the students on their "university" AND where the same defendant agrees to pay $1 million in penalties for violating state education laws is admitting wrongdoing. It is a denial of common sense and reality to pretend otherwise.

And, of course, when he was running for President, Trump emphatically stated he would "never" settle the lawsuit multiple times.

As NY's Attorney General said:

As part of the agreement, Trump will pay $1 million in penalties to the state of New York for violating state education laws by labeling his nonaccredited school a “university” without registering as an educational institution with New York state officials, according to New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who announced the settlement Friday afternoon. The deal includes no admission of wrongdoing.
“In 2013, my office sued Donald Trump for swindling thousands of innocent Americans out of millions of dollars through a scheme known as Trump University,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “Donald Trump fought us every step of the way, filing baseless charges and fruitless appeals and refusing to settle for even modest amounts of compensation for the victims of his phony university. Today, that all changes. Today’s $25 million settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university.”

While there might not be an explicit admission of wrongdoing, such a substantial settlement under the terms made public is certainly an implicit one.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
What is commonly known as the legal system in our country is a sheer garment of jargon seductively draped over a rotting carcass and skeletal bones of greed.
The one mantra for all of the practioners: billable hours.
In cases when the outcome is questionable, or if the result if tried will likely be within a reasonable amount of a settlement figure, the ...[text shortened]... e settlement conditions.
Even when they're handing out charity, they're asking for a receipt...

It's rather hilarious that in a previous discussion you absolutely refused to consider the possibility that an innocent man might plead guilty to a crime to escape a very lengthy jail sentence, but now recognize that "opportunity costs" and "other things" might factor into the legal decisions of a billionaire.

Originally posted by no1marauder
Let's be serious; a settlement where the defendant agrees to reimburse virtually all monies spent by the students on their "university" AND where the same defendant agrees to pay $1 million in penalties for violating state education laws is admitting wrongdoing. It is a denial of common sense and reality to pretend otherwise.

And, of course, when he w ...[text shortened]... ngdoing, such a substantial settlement under the terms made public is certainly an implicit one.

===Trump will pay $1 million in penalties to the state of New York for violating state education laws by labeling his nonaccredited school a “university” without registering as an educational institution with New York state officials, according to New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who announced the settlement Friday afternoon. ===

That's not the wrongdoing we're talking about here. That he violated NYS Higher Ed law by mislabeling his school as a "university" is not the gravamen of the complaint. The central allegation is that the school was a sham - that he didn't provide the education the school promised it would has not been proven in a court of law. Even if the claims are false and that his school was substantially legitimate, agreeing to settle for $25m and avoid having this be a distraction to his Presidency is a perfectly rational decision. As such, no inference of his knowledge of his own liability is warranted.

Yes. He claimed he would not settle earlier. That he's changed his mind and swallowed a bit of his pride to do something rational is encouraging. Digging in and fighting this to the death while he was POTUS would have been foolhardy.

Originally posted by sh76
===Trump will pay $1 million in penalties to the state of New York for violating state education laws by labeling his nonaccredited school a “university” without registering as an educational institution with New York state officials, according to New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who announced the settlement Friday afternoon. ===

That's not th ...[text shortened]... uraging. Digging in and fighting this to the death while he was POTUS would have been foolhardy.

That's BS and you know it. He's still blabbing on twitter that he would have won the case even though he's ponying up $25 million and every student will receive some compensation. Opening your pockets and paying out such a sum is an implicit admission of your own liability whether you or he want to admit it or not and making "no inference" while politically convenient for Trump is completely irrational.

During the campaign, his lawyers insisted on delays until after the election; just two weeks ago he had them file motions to delay the start of trial until after his inauguration. He's been delaying the proceedings for political advantage for years. No, it's not surprising he eventually settled; but it is disappointing that even you continue to be so easily conned by Trump.

And the gravamen of the complaint was fraud and his labeling of his scam as a "University" was part of the fraud; the purpose of the State law Trump violated IS the prevention of fraudulent claims.