A San Diego judge denied Donald Trump and his attorney's request to move a Trump University trial date to 2017, according to a federal court document filed Thursday.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump and his attorneys requested the trial date in the Low v. Trump class-action lawsuit be moved to a later date due to a scheduling conflict with one of his lead attorneys, Daniel Petrocelli.
U.S District Judge Gonzalo Curiel denied the request and in a court document said Trump and his attorneys failed to prove an actual or potential conflict exists between the Low case and the other trial Petrocelli is assigned to.
Click here to read more of the judge's decision.
In his ruling, Judge Curiel said the trial will begin on its previously scheduled date, November 28. He also moved up a hearing on jury instruction to November 10, the same day a motion hearing was already scheduled.
In asking for the date change, Petrocelli discussed how he is the lead trial attorney in another case set to begin on November 15. The current schedule would “prevent Mr. Petrocelli from conducting the necessary pretrial work and preparation in this case,” and “defendants will suffer substantial prejudice,” the court document filed earlier this week detailed.
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Click here to read the complete court document.
In court documents filed Wednesday, Jason Forge writing for the plaintiffs, said he opposed any more delays. Four months ago the court chose a trial date that wouldn’t conflict with the presidential campaign or the holidays, he wrote in the court documents.
"We have waited six and half years to get this case to trial,” Forge wrote. "There is no mystery about what happened here....a possible Trump victory (in the presidential election) would spawn a host of potential new excuses to postpone trial for years.”
Click here to read the complete opposition filed by the plaintiffs.
The Trump University lawsuits allege the former university, which took in over $40 million, was fraudulent and deceptive. Two class-action lawsuits against the now-closed Trump University are being heard in San Diego courtrooms; another lawsuit is based in a New York court.
The San Diego cases include: Cohen v. Trump, a nationwide class action lawsuit and Low v. Trump, a class action in California, Florida and New York. Trump denies the allegations in the lawsuits.
