Former students allege Trump University pitched them expensive real estate coursework, sometimes amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, for real estate seminars where students learned little. | Getty

Judge sets May hearing in Trump University lawsuit

04/20/16 05:33 PM EDT

The Washington Post’s bid to unseal documents filed in a class-action case against Trump University will get a hearing in May.

Earlier this month the newspaper asked a San Diego District Court to unseal hundreds of pages of documents in the case against GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump. The Post argued the lawsuit filed by former Trump University students has become a campaign issue and the documents should thus be available to the public.

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Former students allege Trump University pitched them expensive real estate coursework, sometimes amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, for real estate seminars where students learned little. Trump has denied the claims and said students overwhelmingly approved of the school.

“This case focuses on allegedly deceptive commercial practices by a leading presidential candidate whose claim to be qualified for the presidency hinges on his business record,” the Washington Post argued in a filing. “Plaintiff’s allegations in this case, and the lawsuit itself, have become prominent campaign issues,” which makes the need for transparency in the case paramount. The hearing on the Post’s request is scheduled for May 27.

In a separate filing Wednesday, federal District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel took the expected step of dismissing former student Tarla Makaeff from her role as lead plaintiff in the case. Makaeff said she wanted to leave the role, in part, because she never anticipated the case would be a high-profile focal point in a presidential campaign — or that she would become a public target for Trump. Another plaintiff, Sonny Low, will take on that role.

Both actions concern the California-based class action suit filed against Trump. But a separate case brought by the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is also due for a hearing Tuesday.