The lone Trump University student who tried to opt out of a $25 million dollar class action settlement in the Trump University fraud case is making an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to take her case, and the President, to court.
Sherri Simpson, a Florida attorney, was denied her motion to opt out of the settlement last month when a federal judge approved the deal, which was reached on behalf of Trump University students nationwide. More than 3,700 former students out of the nearly 7,000 who were eligible have submitted claims to receive settlement payouts.
Simpson, who says she spent nearly $19,000 for Trump’s real estate secrets seminars, claims that “…the settlement, reached only days after the election of Mr. Trump, wrongfully stripped her and others of the legal right to opt out of any settlement,” according to a statement released by her attorney.
Attorneys who negotiated the settlement say Simpson could receive about 90% of the money she lost under terms of the agreement. Simpson has told CNN she is seeking all of her money, plus damages and interest on the funds she says Trump University took from her under false pretenses some 7 years ago.
Simpson’s notice of appeal, filed today, could potentially hold up payouts to thousands of Trump University students covered under the settlement.
Trump University students who qualify have yet to be paid from the $25 million dollars placed in escrow to settle two class actions lawsuits and a separate suit brought by the New York Attorney General. Attorneys for the class action lawsuits have argued Simpson’s challenge to the settlement, and now her appeal to the Ninth Circuit could further delay any payouts while the courts decide if Simpson has a legal right to opt out of the settlement and sue Trump University on her own behalf.