Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
The parent of a Pepperdine University student has filed a class action lawsuit after the school allegedly refused to refund tuition and fees during COVID-19.
The Pepperdine COVID-19 refund class action lawsuit was filed by Joseph Pinzon who says he was financially injured by Pepperdine’s choice to not offer refunds of tuition and fees after suspending in-person operations.
He says that his son is currently attending Pepperdine University for his graduate studies. Pinzon explains that he paid his son’s tuition and fees for the spring and summer 2020 semesters.
The Pepperdine class action lawsuit states that in light of the coronavirus outbreak, Pepperdine University closed its campuses for the last part of the spring semester. Because of this, in-person classes and activities were canceled and the school moved to offer classes online.
Despite this change, Pepperdine did not offer to refund its students for the tuition or fees that they paid — he notes that the school did not even offer a partial refund for the part of the semester after the campuses were closed.
Pinzon says that this choice financially injured him, in that the quality of the education offered by Pepperdine online was substantially lower than the quality of the education offered in-person. The plaintiff claims that had he known that the classes would not be offered in the way advertised, and that the educational quality would be lower than advertised, he would not have agreed to pay the same amount of tuition for his son to attend the school.
Additionally, he says that the school charged fees specifically for in-person activities and facilities, all of which became inaccessible to students after the campuses closed.
Pinzon claims that he was further financially injured because had he known that his son would not be able to use the facilities and participate in the on-campus activities, he would not have agreed to pay these fees or would not have paid as much.
As an example, Pinzon notes that his son can no longer have “vital library access and special tools” that are only available when a person physically visits the library. He also says that the online classes offered by Pepperdine are less rigorous than the in-person classes, and offer less opportunity to communicate with professors and other students.
Pinzon stresses that it would have been possible for the university to offer discounts, because many peer institutions have offered some kinds of discounts, either to tuition or fees or both. He also cites the school’s extensive financial resources to support this claim that the school has the means to refund students but failed to do so.
Allegedly, Pepperdine is fully aware of the attraction of its in-person and on-campus educational experience, and claims that the university touts the in-person experience in its marketing material.
For example, the university’s marketing material reportedly makes claims such as “the relationships and sense of community developed during these years are crucial to the college experience,” and many others.
The Pepperdine COVID-19 charges class action lawsuit then goes on to say that the school itself recognizes that in-person learning experiences are more valuable than those offers online.
According to Pinzon, the school charges more for in-person classes than it does for online classes.
Adding insult to injury, the school has not only refused to offer refunds, but has announced that the tuition for Pinzon’s graduate program will increase 3.8 percent for the fall 2020 term, says Pinzon.
Allegedly, this tuition increase was made even though the school itself recognized that the school’s “unprecedented actions have significantly impacted the academic experience” for many students.
Because the failure to refund affected many students, the Pepperdine coronavirus response class action lawsuit seeks to represent not only Pinzon, but a Class of similarly affected individuals who paid tuition for semesters affected by the coronavirus, and who did not receive a refund. He seeks damages on behalf of himself and this putative Class.
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.
How has the coronavirus crisis affected your education or the education of your loved ones? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
Pinzon is represented by Christopher R. Pitoun, Steve W. Berman, Daniel J. Kurowski, and Whitney K. Siehl of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.
The Pepperdine University COVID-19 Refund Class Action Lawsuit is Joseph Pinzon v. Pepperdine University, Case No. 2:20-cv-04928, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division.
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.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
