University of Colorado Boulder Class Action Alleges Unfair COVID-19 Tuition

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the University of Colorado Boulder by students claiming they are being overcharged due to COVID-19.

Plaintiff Emily Carpey says she enrolled at the university as a full time student for the spring 2020 semester. Stuart Carpey, another plaintiff in the class action lawsuit, claims to have paid for all or a portion of his daughter’s tuition and other fees for the spring semester.

Emily says that she, with assistance from her father, is paying full price and out-of-pocket for all tuition and fees and that she has not received any scholarships or any other discounts from the university.

The plaintiffs maintain that, as a result of the coronavirus, the school has suspended all in-person campus activities. In addition, Emily states that the defendant has barred students from entering the campus for the remainder of the school year.

Have you paid for college for the spring 2020 semester, but had your classes moved online? Get legal help by clicking here.

Even though the defendant is offering academic instruction online, the student says she will be deprived of the benefits of in-person campus learning.

In addition, the plaintiffs state that any degree issued as a basis for pass/fail classes will be diminished for the rest of their life.

The university has reportedly stated that they will be offering prorated refunds or credits for room and board fees. However, the university has refused to give credit or refund any portion of tuition or any other fees that were paid by the Carpeys, according to the University of Colorado Boulder class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs say that “through the admission agreement and payment of tuition, Plaintiffs and the Tuition Class members entered into a binding contract with Defendant.”

The Carpeys claim that, in exchange for the money paid to the university, the defendant promised to provide certain services to students, including live in-person instruction in a brick and mortar classroom.

The university closure class action states that the plaintiffs fulfilled their end of the bargain when they paid the tuition for the spring 2020 semester.

“The Plaintiffs and the class members have suffered damage as a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s breach, including but not limited to being deprived of the experience and services to which they were promised and for which they have already paid,” the University of Colorado Boulder class action lawsuit goes on to claim.

The students say that they are entitled to damages that will be decided by the court, which would include disgorgement of the prorated, unused amounts of the fees that have already been charged and collected by the university.

According to a Denver CBS affiliate, out-of-state students pay nearly $20,000 per semester to attend the University of Colorado Boulder and the Carpey family lives in Pennsylvania.

This is not the first lawsuit filed by students looking to obtain a refund for university classes that have been cancelled or moved to an online environment.

A student at Purdue University has filed a class action lawsuit against the Indiana college, claiming that he was charged full tuition and fees, even though the university cancelled all in-person classes and activities due to COVID-19.

The plaintiff in that case says that his education was negatively impacted when the university decided to move their classes to an online environment, but he was not compensated for this change from in-person learning.

In addition, a student at Liberty University has sued the college, claiming that it charged students for housing even though there were extensive closures and cancellations due to the coronavirus.

The Liberty class action lawsuit was filed anonymously by a student who claims that they paid tuition and fees to attend the college for the spring 2020 semester. The student states that they would like to remain anonymous because they fear some retaliation from the University and its president, Jerry Falwell, Jr. 

There are two prospective Classes in this University of Colorado Boulder lawsuit. The Tuition Class, includes: “All people who paid tuition for or on behalf of students enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder for the Spring 2020 semester who were denied live in-person instruction and forced to use online distance learning platforms for the last quarter of the 2019-2020 academic year. The Fee Class, includes: “All people who paid fees for or on behalf of students enrolled in classes at the University of Colorado Boulder for the Spring 2020 semester.”

The plaintiffs are represented by John G. Taussig III and Scott D. Smith of Taussig & Smith and Eric M. Poulin and Roy T. Willey, IV of the Anastopoulo Law Firm, LLC.

The University of Colorado Boulder Class Action Lawsuit is Emily Carpey, et al. v. University of Colorado Boulder, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01064, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

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