A $25 million settlement between President Donald Trump and former customers of his now-defunct Trump University was approved Friday.
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel gave final approval on the deal after praising it Thursday.
The settlement of two class-action lawsuits and a civil lawsuit by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ends nearly seven years of litigation. The filings fill millions of pages. There were 65 depositions, including three of Trump.
The legal exposure dogged the Republican businessman throughout the campaign. Trump vowed never to settle but said after the election that he didn't have time for a trial, even though he believed he would have prevailed. Under terms of the proposed settlement, he admits no wrongdoing.
Attorneys for former customers said Thursday that their clients would get at least 90 percent of their money back under the deal, based on the roughly 3,730 claims submitted. The attorneys waived their fees and Schneiderman agreed to forego $1.6 million of his $4 million portion of the settlement, raising individual payments.
The only holdup had been a Florida woman's claim that she should be allowed to opt out of the settlement and sue the president on her own — a move that would likely scuttle the entire agreement.
But Curiel wrote in his decision that her objection did not present "serious reasons indicating that the settlement is unfair, inadequate or unreasonable."
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Schneiderman said in a statement that he is pleased the members of the suit were able to get more than first anticipated.
"Trump University's victims waited years for compensation, while President Trump refused to settle and fought us every step of the way — until his stunning reversal last fall," he said.
