Donald Trump’s University Case Just Took an Interesting Turn

That is, if the case isn’t settled first. The New York Daily News has learned that Trump is now reportedly nearing a settlement for up to $25 million over the university lawsuits brought against him in New York and California. A spokesperson for the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told the Daily News that the attorney general “has always been open to a settlement that fairly compensates the many victims of Trump University who have been waiting years for a resolution.”

Trump’s attorneys said in a court filing last week that preparations for the White House were “critical and all-consuming.” Six months ago, when they unsuccessfully sought a delay until after Inauguration Day, lead attorney Daniel Petrocelli said the period between the election and swearing-in is extremely hectic for a president-elect but that it was preferable to a trial during the campaign.

“The task is momentous, exceedingly complex, and requires careful coordination involving the respective staffs and teams of both President (Barack) Obama and President-Elect Trump,” Trump’s attorneys wrote. “In fewer than three months, the President-Elect must be prepared to manage 15 executive departments, more than 100 federal agencies, 2 million civilian employees, and a budget of almost $4 trillion.”

Trump’s attorneys had also raised the prospect of having the president-elect testify by video recording before the trial begins in the class-action lawsuit in San Diego on Nov. 28.

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel is eager to get the 6½-year-old case to trial and gave no sign that he was inclined to grant a delay during a hearing last week in which Petrocelli argued that demands of the transition justified putting it off until early next year.

Now, Trump may want to skip right to a settlement, according to the Daily News report. This is a complete change from the comments the president-elect made during a segment of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” back in March. Trump said he didn’t want to settle the cases because “I don’t settle cases, I win in court.”

The former students allege that Trump University failed to deliver on its promise to teach success in real estate through programs that cost up to $35,000, misleading them by calling it a university when it wasn’t an accredited school and by saying that Trump “hand-picked” instructors. Trump has strongly denied the claims.

Plaintiff attorneys oppose a delay, saying that one of three lead plaintiffs, Sonny Low, has medical issues and will be 75 years old when the trial begins. The say a delay would be “a slippery slope” because Trump’s schedule will become more complicated and unpredictable.

“This trial, like so many Trump University student-victims’ credit-card bills, is past due,” they wrote in a court filing.

This article has been updated to reflect the reported settlement amount.