NYU Failed to Refund Students for 2020 Remote Learning, Says Class Action Lawsuit

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A graduate student says that she and others should be reimbursed for on-campus services by New York University (NYU) when the school went remote in the Spring of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit.  

Lead plaintiff, Nelcy Mabel Garcia De León, filed the class action lawsuit in New York federal court Monday seeking to represent other NYU students who she says are owed refunds on the tuition they paid for the Spring 2020 semester.  

León says she was a graduate student at NYU during the Spring of 2020. She claims that she prepaid her tuition and fees, along with all other NYU students, for the semester that was scheduled to end on May 20, 2020.  

NYU closed its campus on March 11, 2020, sending all of its students to remote learning in order to stop the spread of COVID-19, according to the class action lawsuit. León says that, although she and other students received some instruction online, they were deprived of the benefits of on-campus enrollment and NYU has offered “unfair, arbitrary, and wholly insufficient” refunds for some fees and totally refuses to offer any tuition refunds.  

The class action lawsuit notes that other schools offer online programming where students can earn their degrees remotely; however, students who attend these schools pay much less than NYU students. 

Indeed, marketing materials for the school tout its location and access to New York City amenities, as well as its on-campus facilities.  

“Plaintiff and members of the proposed Tuition Class did not choose to attend another institution of higher learning, or to seek an online degree, but instead chose to attend Defendant’s institution and specifically chose to enroll in the on-campus product and paid tuition and fees on that basis,” alleges León. 

NYU has an estimated endowment of approximately $4.7 billion and received more than $25 million in aid during the coronavirus pandemic, points out the class action lawsuit. Despite these funds, the university has failed to reimburse or refund students who paid tuition for the partially remote Spring 2020 semester, says León.  

The class action lawsuit accuses NYU of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violating New York business law.  

This is not the only litigation NYU has faced for failing to reimburse students for remoting learning. In May, another student filed a class action lawsuit claiming NYU owed him and others a refund after moving to remote learning in the Spring of 2020. 

León seeks to represent two Classes of NYU students; Those who paid tuition for the Spring 2020 semester and those who paid fees for that term. She wants NYU to disgorge tuition and fees for the Spring semester that was cut short by COVID-19 and pay it back to students.  

Are you an NYU student who paid tuition for Spring of 2020? Do you think the school owes you a refund? Tell us about it in the comment section below.  

The lead plaintiff is represented by Edward of Toptani Law PLLC, and Eric M. Poulin, Roy T. Willey, IV, Blake G. Abbott, and Jarrett W. Withrow of Anastopoulo Law Firm LLC.  

The NYU Remote Learning Refund Class Action Lawsuit is León v. New York University, Case No. 1:21-cv-05005 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  

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