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On Aug. 20, 2020, the District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College was hit with a class action lawsuit over allegations it failed to refund certain fees for on-campus services after classes were moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plaintiff Fernando Verdini says he was enrolled as a full-time student at Miami Dade College’s medical campus and paid fees for the Spring and Summer 2020 academic semesters.
According to the Florida college fees class action lawsuit, the Florida State Board of Education required classes at all of its colleges to be moved online starting on March 17, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Students who lived in on-campus housing were told they had to move out or were strongly encouraged to do so, such that they had no meaningful choice but to comply,” according to the Miami Dade College class action lawsuit.
“Further, because all classes were moved online, there was no reason for students to remain on campus if they had other housing available to them. This is particularly so in the face of the dangers, risks, and fear associated with the pandemic.”
Despite this “constructive eviction” of students, Verdini says Miami Dade College refuses to refund fees paid for certain on-campus services that were no longer available.
According to the Miami Dade College class action lawsuit, Verdini also received a bill for services that would not be available to him during the Summer 2020 semester because classes were still scheduled to be held online. The college allegedly did not offer to waive the fees even though the services were unavailable.
CNBC notes that this is the case for students all over the country as they pursue refunds for tuition.
Frustration Over Lack of College Fee Refunds
Verdini acknowledges that the steps to transition students into online courses during the pandemic were reasonable. However, he says it is unfair for the college to keep the fees for services it is no longer providing. Some lawmakers in Kansas agree.
Verdini filed the Florida college fees class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed Class of people who paid fees to Miami Dade College for the Spring and Summer 2020 academic semesters and who have not received refunds or waivers for the fees they paid for services no longer available.
The Miami Dade College class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Verdini is seeking the pro-rated and unused portion of the fees that he and the other putative Class Members paid the college. He also seeks a judgment requiring the college to stop charging certain fees for upcoming semesters when those services would not be provided due to campus closures.
On Feb. 1, 2021, the court refused to dismiss the breach of contract claim from the Miami Dade College class action lawsuit, finding that the invoices Verdini provided were sufficient at this point in the litigation to show that Miami Dade College was contractually obligated to provide the services for which Verdini had paid.
The judge however dismissed the unjust enrichment claim from the Florida college fees class action lawsuit.
The Miami Dade College class action lawsuit is just one of more than 100 lawsuits filed by students around the country seeking refunds for services they paid for that were unavailable during the COVID-19 pandemic. It joins the ranks of lawsuits from students at Northeastern University and University of Washington, among others.
Verdini is represented by Adam M. Moskowitz, Howard M. Busman and Adam A. Schwartzbaum of The Moskowitz Law Firm.
His Miami Dade College Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Fernando Verdini v. District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College, Case No. 2020-17924-CA-44, in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami Dade County, Florida.
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