In the most recent legal victory, former President Trump has seen a class-action lawsuit against him struck down by U.S. District Court Judge Lorna Schofield. The suit revolved around an endorsement agreement with ACN Opportunity LLC, a multi-level marketing company that Trump had endorsed from 2006 until his presidential campaign kicked off in 2015.
This is not just a win – it’s a total knockout! The plaintiffs, independent business owners (IBOs) who had enrolled with ACN Opportunity, had claimed that they relied on Trump’s endorsement when deciding to enroll with the company. They argued that Trump should be held accountable for the fact that they made little to no money throughout their participation in the program.
But Judge Schofield delivered a powerful right hook to the plaintiff’s case, stating that defining a class that could have been harmed by then-presidential hopeful Trump would be impossible. She pointed out that IBOs were recruited through personal contacts in small meetings and with various marketing materials that contained inducements independent of Trump.
The Judge added a one-two punch, noting “there is no cohesion among putative class members to justify applying the presumption that they relied on Trump’s statements in deciding to enroll, because they were exposed to different marketing pitches from sources in addition to Trump, including statements made by their own personal contacts and marketing materials from ACN.”
In other words, Trump was a paid spokesman, and thus cannot possibly be held responsible for individual losses of business owners he himself never worked with. It’s like blaming a celebrity endorser for your bad experience with a product they advertised – it just doesn’t hold water!
Judge Schofield also observed that “the record evidence shows that some IBOs knew or assumed Trump was a paid spokesperson.” She noted that Trump’s recorded statements of ACN being a “great opportunity,” description as possessing a “winning business model,” and claiming a “proven track record” of “creating millionaires,” isn’t fraud or misrepresentation. It’s advertising.
Trump celebrated this complete victory via Truth Social, writing, “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. It was ruled that there can be no Class Action, and Certification was denied!”
The ruling is not just a triumph for Trump, but a bold statement about the power of personal responsibility and critical thinking. It’s a reminder that in business, as in life, there are no guarantees, and it’s up to us to do our due diligence before jumping into any venture.
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