InterCoast Career Institute Class Action Says LPN Program is a Sham

Four former nursing students are taking on InterCoast Career Institute for allegedly failing to give them the professional education they paid for.

Plaintiffs Stephanie Kourembanas, Caridad Jean Baptiste, Cathy Mande and Catharine Valley allege that defendant InterCoast Colleges’ practical nursing program is a “sham.”

According to the plaintiffs, InterCoast Colleges is a for-profit college business based in California that offers career training programs in several fields, including the Licensed Practical Nurse program at issue in this class action lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that InterCoast’s LPN program “existed to make money without regard for the quality of education its students received in exchange. InterCoast provided little, if any, educational value to its students and failed to enhance their occupational qualifications or career prospects.”

According to the InterCoast class action lawsuit, faculty members within the defendant’s LPN program were unqualified. Students did not receive adequate clinical experience before finishing the program, and they were not adequately prepared to take the NCLEX-PN national certification exam for practical nurses.

The plaintiffs accuse InterCoast of using the federal student loan program like a money tree. The school allegedly induced students to finance the costs of their LPN program by using federal student loans, to the tune of around $36,000 each.

InterCoast took steps to maximize the amount of federal financial aid each student could get, in an effort to maximize the school’s own revenues, the plaintiffs claim.

Plaintiffs say the InterCoast LPN program was investigated in 2012 by the Maine Board of Nursing following student complaints about the poor quality of clinical sites affiliated with the program.

After the investigation, the Board allowed InterCoast to enter into a consent agreement designed to address the school’s alleged violations of the state Board of Nursing rules. Failure to resolve problems according to the consent agreement would put the program’s state accreditation at stake.

A second consent agreement from September 2015 would require InterCoast to “voluntary surrender its certificate of approval” to the state board.

Plaintiffs say the LPN certificates they earned upon completion of the InterCoast program were essentially worthless. Many of them are now stuck with thousands in student loans that they may not be able to pay back without the professional certification they expected to receive from the program.

The plaintiffs are proposing to represent a Class consisting of all nursing students who enrolled in the InterCoast LPN program in Maine between 2011 and 2016. They estimate Class Members could number between 250 and 300 individuals.

They seek an injunction that would require InterCoast to take all necessary steps to remedy the effects of the allegedly unlawful acts complained of here, including paying off the balances of Class Members’ student loans.

They also seek a damage award including compensatory and punitive damages, reimbursement of attorneys’ fees, and prejudgment interest where applicable.

Plaintiffs’ counsel includes attorneys James Clifford and Andrew P. Cotter of Clifford & Clifford and Richard O’Meara of Murray Plumb & Murray.

The InterCoast Career Institute Breach of Contract Class Action Lawsuit is Stephanie Kourembanas, et al. v. InterCoast Colleges, Case No. 2:16-cv-00639, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.