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The Georgetown University campus closure due to COVID-19 restrictions has drawn a class action lawsuit alleging the Washington D.C. college should provide a refund to its students.
The lead plaintiff, who is only identified as Student A, says that courses have only been offered through Georgetown University online since March 6, 2020.
On that date, officials closed the campus through the rest of the spring term due to the coronavirus pandemic, only allowing classes to be held virtually. The plaintiff says that he and other students have had “little to no actual, real-time instruction from professors or instructors.”
Student A is a resident of New Jersey and says that he paid more than $30,000 to attend Georgetown in the spring of 2020 as a law student at the institution.
The plaintiff contends that Georgetown has not offered to refund any of the tuition paid by students due to the coronavirus closure of the campus. Student A claims to not have received the benefits of “in-person instruction, meaningful student presentations, peer collaboration, or equivalent access to university faculty, facilities and services.”
According to the complaint, spring term classes concluded on April 28, 2020, and final exams wrapped up on May 12, 2020.
“As a result of the closure of Defendant’s facilities, Defendant has not delivered the educational services, facilities, access and/or opportunities that Plaintiff and the putative class contracted and paid for. The online learning options being offered to Georgetown students are subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty,” states the Georgetown University class action lawsuit.
“Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback, and critique, including but not limited to the discontinuance of internships and clinical placements. The remote learning options are in no way the equivalent of the in-person education that Plaintiff and the putative class members contracted and paid for.”
Lack of access to the resources available on the Georgetown University campus has diminished the value of the education provided by the institution, says Student A.
The plaintiff asserts that Georgetown students are thus “entitled to a refund of tuition and fees for in-person educational services, facilities, access and/or opportunities that Defendant has not provided.”
According to the Georgetown University campus class action lawsuit, Georgetown uses its purported superior on-campus experiences to market to prospective law and other students.
“The tuition and fees for in-person instruction at Georgetown are higher than tuition and fees for online institutions because such costs cover not just the academic instruction, but encompass an entirely different experience,” alleges the complaint, listing a number of benefits of learning on the Georgetown campus rather than online. These benefits include face-to-face interactions with faculty, mentors, and peers, access to facilities, extracurricular activities, and hands-on learning experiences.
Georgetown’s failure to provide the in-person experiences touted by its marketing, and regardless of the reason, constitutes a breach of contract with those students who paid tuition to attend the college during the spring term, alleges the class action lawsuit. In addition, the institution has reportedly been unjustly enriched by its failure to provide refunds.
“Even if Defendant claims it did not have a choice in cancelling in-person classes, it nevertheless has improperly retained funds for services that have diminished in value or are not being provided at all,” points out the Georgetown University campus class action lawsuit.
Student A seeks to represent other students who paid tuition for the spring term of 2020, but were relegated to online learning due to the closure of the Georgetown University campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The class action lawsuit is seeking “disgorgement of the pro-rated portion of tuition and fees, proportionate to the amount of time that remained in the Spring Semester 2020 when classes moved online and campus services ceased being provided.”
In addition, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief.
A number of institutions of higher learning have been accused of wrongly retaining funds as campuses were closed to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
In fact, a number of legal issues have arisen as a result of COVID-19 and corresponding restrictions implemented to stop the disease. Top Class Actions has developed a legal guide to coronavirus related issues to help keep consumers informed.
U.S. students aren’t the only ones facing a decreased quality of education in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, students in the U.K. are also discouraged by the move to online classes.
Are you a student relegated to Georgetown University online offerings? Do you think the institution should offer refunds for lack of access to the Georgetown University campus? Let us know what happened to you in the comments section below!
The lead plaintiff and proposed Class Members are represented by Joseph I. Marchese and Philip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher PA.
The Georgetown University Campus Closure Class Action Lawsuit is Student A v. Georgetown University, Case No. 2:20-cv-05937, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Join a Free Coronavirus College Refund Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If your college or university closed because of the coronavirus, but you did not receive a refund for tuition, room and board or other fees, you may be able to join this coronavirus school refund class action lawsuit investigation.
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