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Update:
- A class action lawsuit brought against Northwestern University by students who claimed the school unfairly charged tuition and fees when it switched to virtual classes as a response to the coronavirus pandemic has been revived after being dismissed in 2021.
- On Aug. 4, an Illinois federal judge ruled that students could continue with their claims against Northwestern after initially dismissing it last September.
- In his decision to reject Northwestern’s latest motion to dismiss, Judge Harry D. Leinenweber cited a ruling last month by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that revived a case with “near-identical claims” against Loyola University Chicago.
- He said, when considering the Seventh Circuit’s ruling, students had pointed to alleged statements in university documents and prior university practice that could show the university had “an implied contract of in-person services and physical access to the educational facilities.”
Northwestern COVID tuition class action lawsuit overview:
- Why: The judge ruled the students’ evidence was not strong enough to support their claim that they were owed tuition after classes went remote due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Who: An Illinois federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit filed by Northwestern students against the university.
- Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in Illinois federal court.
(09/21/2021)
An Illinois federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit brought against Northwestern University by its students who claimed the school unfairly charged tuition and fees when it switched to virtual classes as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.
US District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber ruled that the students’ complaint did not provide evidence supporting their claim that Northwestern promised in-person instruction in exchange for tuition. The students submitted admission letters, as well as Northwestern’s website, course catalogue and faculty handbook. These materials and the language they contain, Leinenweber said, are not concrete enough to imply a contract.
Second chance in Northwestern COVID tuition lawsuit
However, Leinenweber has given the plaintiffs, Nathaniel Polley, Nancy Quiroz, Surya Veeravalli, and Daniel Greenwald, 30 days to file an amended complaint with a viable claim before fully dismissing the case.
Northwestern is not the only university to face legal action from students demanding tuition and fee refunds for terms spent remote learning. Barry University recently agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it refused to refund students for tuition and other fees after it closed its campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students who filed class action lawsuits against the University of Delaware alleging that the school was unjustly enriched by not reducing course fees when it switched to online learning during the pandemic were allowed to move forward under an August ruling by an appeals court..
Have you been affected by the shift to virtual classes without a change in tuition? What do you think of the judge’s ruling? Sound off in the comments section below!
The plaintiffs are represented by James A. Francis, John Soumilas, David A. Searles, Edward Henri Skipton, and Jordan M. Sartell of Francis Mailman Soumilas PC, et al.
The Northwestern COVID Tuition Class Action Lawsuit is Polley, et al. v. Northwestern University, Case No. 1:20-cv-04798, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.
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