The State University System of Florida (SUS), and its 12 constituent universities (including FAMU), is among the latest to be subjected to a class-action lawsuit by students seeking fee reimbursements as a result of COVID-19 related campus closures.
The Florida lawsuit, filed by a University of Florida graduate student, is among a growing number of lawsuits that allege “unlawful” behavior and demanding partial refunds on tuition and campus fees, saying they’re not getting the caliber of education or the services they were promised. The SUS lawsuit demands reimbursement of fees for athletics, activities and services, and transportation fees, on-campus activities that students have already paid for and cannot participate in.
The lawsuit does not include tuition, because students completed their courses online, and room and board rates, because universities have returned those fees already.
Ken McConnellogue, a spokesman for the University of Colorado, said it’s disappointing that people have been so quick to file lawsuits only weeks into the pandemic. He said the suits appear to be driven by a small number of “opportunistic” law firms.
Lawyers representing students, however, say the refunds are a matter of fairness.
“You cannot keep money for services and access if you aren’t actually providing it,” said Roy Willey, a lawyer for the Anastopoulo Law Firm, in South Carolina, which has represents student suing the University of Miami and Drexel University (PA).
“Schools are facing all sorts of challenges,” said Derin Dickerson, a litigation partner and co-chair of the colleges and universities practice at Alston & Bird in Atlanta. “Defending class action lawsuits is the last thing they need.”
“We are all struggling with the health and economic effects of the pandemic,” he said, and schools are also saddled with additional costs, from software and technological upgrades to deliver educational material at a distance. That means many institutions likely don’t have the financial means to provide any sort of refund, he added.
Many schools, in fact, are facing a significant shortfall, as more students reconsider whether to enroll in remote learning come the fall.
“These (coordinated) refund class actions pose significant financial, reputational and legal risks to institutions already under unprecedented stress,” Dickerson said.