US judge denies request to delay Trump University trial

A US federal judge denied a request for a five-week delay by Donald Trump's attorneys in a trial over whether the Republican presidential candidate's now-defunct Trump University had fleeced customers.

Lead Trump attorney Daniel Petrocelli had asked that the trial - set for November 28 in San Diego - be moved to January 2, as it interfered with another case he is handling.

An attorney representing the plaintiffs opposed the request, arguing that the trial date had been set months ago so as not to conflict with the November 8 presidential election or the end-of-year holidays.

The two class-action lawsuits against the billionaire businessman claim that Trump University students were tricked with aggressive marketing that amounted to fraud.

The suits say students paid as much as $35,000 to enroll, believing they would make it big in real estate and would be taught by experts hand-picked by Trump.

Trump's lawyers say many students have given the program a thumbs up and those who failed to succeed had nothing but themselves to blame.

Trump has repeatedly hit out against the federal judge in the case, Gonzalo Curiel, accusing him of bias because of his Mexican heritage.