Florida Woman Asked To Post Bond In Trump University Lawsuit

Brianna Smith — May 25, 2017

Sherri Simpson; Image Courtesy of Law.com

There have been new developments in the Trump University lawsuit. In response to Sherri B. Simpson, “who is appealing the [approved] settlement,” attorney’s “representing thousands of class members in the lawsuits” are now asking Simpson to “post a $220,833 bond.” The reason for the bond is to “protect the class members against the risk of non-payment should” Simpson lose her appeal, and will also cover things like “court, attorney, administrative and class-servicing costs,” according to a motion filed by attorney Rachel Jensen.

There have been new developments in the Trump University lawsuit. In response to Sherri B. Simpson, “who is appealing the [approved] settlement,” attorney’s “representing thousands of class members in the lawsuits” are now asking Simpson to “post a $220,833 bond.” The reason for the bond is to “protect the class members against the risk of non-payment should” Simpson lose her appeal, and will also cover things like “court, attorney, administrative and class-servicing costs,” according to a motion filed by attorney Rachel Jensen.

According to Jensen:

“An appropriate bond is needed in this case so that the Class Members are not left holding the bag once Simpson and her attorneys are done appealing. Simpson’s appeal is delaying Settlement payments to Class Members that they may need to get out of debt, replenish retirement funds, or confidently enter retirement. As the appeal may well take years to resolve, payments will be delayed too long for many Class Members who may declare bankruptcy, lose homes, decline in health to the point where they cannot enjoy the money, or die before it is over.”

But why is Simpson appealing the $25 million settlement that can result in “months of further litigation and delay any payout.” Well, for those who don’t know, the settlement was offered in response to the litigation surrounding Trump University that first began when “two federal class-action fraud lawsuits and a parallel state court action” were brought forward by Eric Schneiderman, the New York Attorney General. The lawsuits “accused Trump U. of deceiving students by falsely claiming that Trump knew the instructors and that the school was an accredited university.” Instead of being an accredited university, Trump University was a for-profit training program for those interested in learning all of Trump’s “secrets to creating a real estate empire” while charging students up to $35,000 to attend. Additionally, students claim they were “cheated out of tuition through high-pressure sales tactics and misleading claims about what they would learn.”

Trump University; Image Courtesy of TeePublic, https://www.teepublic.com/

So far Simpson’s decision to file a formal notice of appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been heavily “criticized by the lawyer for the other 3,700 or so class members who are eligible to get up to 90 percent of what they spent on President Donald Trump’s defunct real estate success program.” Many of them just want their payout so they can move on with their lives and get rid of any debt they incurred while attending Trump University. But why is Simpson appealing the settlement in the first place?

Well, according to her lawyer, Gary Friedman, “the appeal will be based on the argument that a San Diego federal judge who approved the settlement on March 31 erred because class members were not given a second chance to opt out of the case.” Recently Friedman said:

“The class members had a right to opt out of the settlement. The notice they received from the court promised them in no uncertain terms they had that right. Then, once the defendant got elected president it became inconvenient to honor that promise.”

Money also seems to be playing a role in Simpson’s decision. According to Friedman, “rather than take the more than $15,000 she would get under the terms of the settlement, Simpson wants to take the president to trial individually and try for an award four times that amount or more.”