President-elect Donald Trump faces lawsuits ahead of presidential inauguration

US President-elect Donald Trump is facing a number of lawsuits as he prepares for his inauguration on 20 January. The newly elected commander-in-chief will head to court in cases regarding Trump University and his new hotel in Washington DC.

Trump is fighting a class action lawsuit that claims he ran a scheme with his now defunct Trump University that "preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money". The president-elect will be required to testify as part of his own defence in the federal court civil trial, according to Politico.

Judge Gonzalo Curiel on Thursday (10 November) held a hearing on jury instruction and to decide what evidence can be admitted, The Guardian reported.

Jury selection for the case is set to begin on 28 November in San Diego, with Trump being called as a witness by both sides.

According to Reuters, Trump's attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, will ask to continue the fraud trial early next year. Judge Curiel, however, recently denied an effort by Petrocelli to push it back.

The case is also expected to have an element of drama after Trump argued that Curiel's Mexican heritage made him irredeemably biased against him during the campaign.

In advance to Thursday's hearing, Curiel also put out a tentative ruling that denied a motion by Petrocelli to exclude all evidence and arguments relating to the presidential primaries and general election.

"The media have reported on every aspect of Mr Trump's life from his long background and history in business and his work in television, to his wife, daughters and sons, charitable foundation, taxes, and even the Miss Universe pageant," the 20 October motion stated, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Petrocelli also argued that matters dealing with Trump's character and controversial behaviour risk "extreme and irremediable prejudice," potentially precluding Trump's chance at a fair trial. However, Curiel argued that Trump's defence team did not identify specific evidence it wanted to exclude.

The Guardian noted that Trump University is also under investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who filed another lawsuit against it in 2013. Schneiderman is also investigating Trump's charity, the Donald J Trump Foundation, for alleged tax violations.

Trump is also suing two celebrity chefs, José Andrés and Geoffrey Zakarian, who pulled out their restaurants from his Washington DC hotel following Trump's comments regarding Mexican immigrants.

Trump sued Andrés for $10m (£7.9m) and was hit with a counter suit for $8m. The two parties are set to meet for mediation on 29 November. The real estate mogul turned president also sued Zakarian for damages "in excess of $10m". The mediation between Trump's DC hotel and Zakarian is scheduled for next year, The Guardian reported.

The president-elect was facing a federal lawsuit over the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl two decades ago, but that case was dropped on 4 November by the accuser, who claimed Trump and his friend Jeffrey Epsetin raped her at a series of sex parties hosted by Epstein in 1994.