Attorneys for Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and Trump University are seeking to block Los Angeles Times consumer columnist David Lazarus from testifying in a class-action fraud case brought by former Trump University students. He wrote a column describing the seminar as a sales pitch for a Trump University seminar that cost nearly $1,500. Trump wrote a letter to Times Editor Davan Maharaj, calling Lazarus a “wise-guy” and describing Trump University as “very successful.” After the letter was published, Lazarus spoke with Trump and reported that Trump had threatened to sue him. Trump attorney Petrocelli argued that the former Trump University students’ lawsuit does not focus on the type of free event that Lazarus attended. The former students, who sued Trump University in 2010, allege that the program made deceptive claims about what kind of profits they could make.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 21, 2016 23:04 UTC