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A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a lower court was too quick to reject a former student's request for dismissal of a suit against her by Trump University. The student sued Trump University after she took some of its courses and they failed to live up to her expectations and claims she said were made in advertising. Trump University (which has since been renamed to remove "university" from its name, but which is called its former name in the ruling) then sued the student for defamation, and she tried unsuccessfully to have the suit dismissed. The appeals court on Wednesday ruled that it would be difficult to win a case against the student for defamation because Trump University was a much discussed institution (in part because of the celebrity of its founder, Donald Trump) and that debate about its quality was very much in the public sphere.
"We have very little difficulty concluding that a public controversy existed over Trump University's educational and business practices," the decision says. "As Donald Trump himself admits on the Trump University website, Trump University provoked public attention nearly from the outset, much of it derisive.... [A]ny general interest in Trump University stemming from its celebrity founder soon ripened in an actual dispute over Trump University's business and educational practices."
A lawyer for Trump University said that it would appeal, the Associated Press reported.
