Judge Curiel: Finding on Donald Trump’s Motion for Summary Judgement
Mr. Trump repliesthat – even though he reviewed and approved advertisements, had an ownership stake in TU indirectly through two other limited liability companies (of which he is the controlling member), and periodically reviewed TU financial statements – Mr. Trump is not personally liable because he did not control the day-today operations of TU
.. For example, Plaintiffs have provided evidence that Mr. Trump reviewed and approved all advertisements.
.. These advertisements included the alleged core misrepresentations, such asthat Mr. Trump “hand-picked” the instructors and mentors.
.. However, Plaintiffs counter that Makaeff also testified that at the Fulfillment Seminar she viewed slides with statements by Mr. Trump, including that “[t]his is the next best thing to being my apprentice,” “[y]ou’ll learn inside secrets from me,” and “he was going to provide his hand-picked instructors,” and that these statements caused her to sign up for the Elite Program.
.. Makaeff testified that it was important to her that Mr. Trump would hand-pick the instructors because “that’s a promise he made, and I would think that he would have the ability to pick the best people since that’s his expertise.”
.. Further, there is evidence that the core misrepresentations occurred in TU advertisementsfeaturing and approved by Mr. Trump.
.. Mr. Trump argues that Plaintiffs’ CLRA claim fails because there was no “transaction” between himself and Makaeff orLow asthey signed enrollment contracts with TU, not Mr. Trump himself.
.. However, Plaintiffs counter that Everett also testified that she received multiple signed letters from Mr. Trump inviting her to the Free Preview, along with a “Special Invitation fromDonald J. Trump,” which stated “my hand-picked instructors will share my techniques, which took my entire career to develop” and “I can turn anyone into a Successful Real Estate Investor,” and she decided to attend the Preview based on the information she received in the mail.