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USC ranking class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Iola Favell, Sue Zarnowski and Mariah Cummings filed a class action lawsuit against the University of Southern California and 2U Inc.
- Why: Favell, Zarnowski and Cummings claim an internal investigation showed USC and its partner, 2U, submitted erroneous data for its Rossier School of Education for years to U.S. News & World Report.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California.
The University of Southern California (USC) has for years submitted “erroneous data” for its Rossier School of Education to U.S. News & World Report to inflate its ranking in the magazine’s list of graduate schools of education, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs Iola Favell, Sue Zarnowski and Mariah Cummings claim USC, along with its partner 2U Inc., which administers its online graduate program, agreed to split profits for online programs using USC’s name and brand while submitting false data to U.S. News.
Favell, Zarnowski and Cummings, who are current and former USC students, argue USC chose to withdraw itself from the U.S. News rankings in March after an internal investigation by USC counsel Jones Day revealed it allegedly sent erroneous data to the magazine for years.
“Under most circumstances, federal regulations prohibit institutions from compensating recruiters based on enrollment in recognition of the fraud that often occurs when financial motivations are introduced. And fraud is exactly what happened here,” the USC class action states.
USC ranking class action claims school violates several California state civil codes
Favell, Zarnowski and Cummings want to represent a class of USC students who were enrolled in an online graduate degree program at USC Rossier from between April 1, 2009, and April 27, 2022.
They accuse USC and 2U of unjust enrichment and violating California’s False Advertising Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law.
The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of actual, incidental, consequential, compensatory and punitive damages for themselves and all class members.
In other USC news, last year, the school agreed to pay more than $1.1 billion to compensate more than 700 former patients of campus gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall, who has been accused of sexual abuse against students.
Have you looked at the U.S. News & World Report ranking while looking for graduate school programs? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Kristen G. Simplicio, Anna Haac, Sabita J. Soneji and Cameron R. Partovi of Tycko & Zavareei LLP and Eric Rothschild of the National Student Legal Defense Network.
The USC ranking class action lawsuit is Favell, et al. v. University of Southern California, et al., Case No. 22STCV3950, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
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