In normal years, a racketeering lawsuit against a major Presidential nominee would be a big deal.
Racketeering laws were put into place to help fight organized crime. And this is only one of the lawsuits involving Trump U that the candidate is facing.
This is such a strange election.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/trump-university-curiel/494213/
Trump’s desire to quash the case is understandable. A civil RICO judgment against him could impose a significant financial penalty. If Trump lost at trial, the plaintiffs would automatically be entitled to have their attorney’s fees covered by him. Whatever damages are imposed against him would also be “trebled,” or tripled, by law.
While Trump University isn’t the type of organization usually targeted by the federal RICO statute, which was designed to fight organized crime, Curiel noted the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted its scope broadly.
“Ultimately, while Defendant may believe that, as a policy matter, civil RICO ought not be extended to consumer class action cases … it is not for this Court to effectuate Defendant’s policy preferences in contravention of the settled approach of the higher courts,” he wrote.
Curiel previously denied summary judgment in Low v. Trump, a class-action lawsuit that alleges consumer-protection violations by Trump University, last November. Trump has emphatically denied any wrongdoing in the lawsuits. He frequently cites positive reviews of the seminars given by former customers as evidence against the plaintiffs’ allegations.
