Trump responded to Tuesday’s order by declaring victory and alleging that Ms. Kaplan was a “Far Left” lawyer and suggesting her case was an attempt at election interference
A federal judge refused on Tuesday to certify the ongoing lawsuit alleging President Donald Trump defrauded individuals in his promotion of a multi-level marketing venture as a class action.
Filed in 2018, the complaint focused on ACN, which sold telecommunications products, and two other companies. The plaintiffs are represented by Roberta Kaplan, the same attorney who represented E. Jean Carroll in her successful sexual battery and defamation suit against Mr. Trump.
U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield ruled that putative class members lacked certain common elements in bringing the case. “Here there is no common evidence showing that putative class members decided to enroll because of Trump’s alleged misstatements,” Judge Schofield wrote for her order in the Southern District of New York.
The Trump Corporation filed a motion to dismiss while attempting to distance Mr. Trump from ACN. It argued that the lawsuit “seeks relief for a single class of putative victims – those who paid money to a business Mr. Trump does not own, has never owned, and over whose operations he has never exercised control.”
According to Courthouse News Service, Schofield allowed multiple claims to proceed but rejected federal conspiracy and racketeering charges in the case. The case is headed for trial on Jan. 29.
Trump responded to Tuesday’s order by declaring victory and alleging that Ms. Kaplan was a “Far Left” lawyer and suggesting her case was an attempt at election interference.
“Today we had a Total and Complete Victory against Far Left Lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, on her ridiculous ACN Class Action Suit, yet another Election Interference Case,” he said on TruthSocial. “It was ruled that there can be no Class Action, and Certification was denied!”
Ms. Kaplan did not respond to The Epoch Times’ multiple requests for comment. According to its website, her firm—Kaplan, Hecker, and Fink LLP—also represented Mr. Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, in a lawsuit alleging that the former president and his children attempted to defraud Ms. Trump of a share of her father’s inheritance.
By Sam Dorman
