Williams Mullen's COVID-19 Comeback Plan: China-related Duty Savings and Refunds
VIDEO: Using the COVID-19 Shutdown to Enhance the University Brand
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, hundreds of lawsuits (many styled as class actions) have been filed by college and university students seeking tuition and fee refunds due to campus closures during the Spring 2020 semester....more
Massachusetts colleges and universities received some good news recently as Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill that limits their liability for certain tuition and fee refund claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic....more
Syracuse University Hit with Another Class Action Lawsuit Over Pandemic Refund Policy - "She is looking to represent an estimated tens of thousands of students who paid for tuition in the spring semester of 2020." Why...more
In previous posts, we reported on several of the many lawsuits across the country in which students have sued their colleges and universities for tuition reimbursement as a result of not receiving certain services during (in...more
The challenges confronted by higher educational institutions in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic have been unprecedented. Faced by legal mandates that limited gatherings and ultimately required campus closings during the...more
Since March 2020, hundreds of class-action lawsuits have been filed by students and parents of students seeking reimbursement of tuition and fees from higher education institutions, stemming from the transition from in-person...more
While 2020 offered extraordinary challenges for higher education institutions (“IHEs”), many are hoping to see a return to a much more typical fall term experience for students in 2021. In an effort to encourage safer fall...more
Two more university tuition refund cases were recently decided at the pleadings stage, with mixed results for the university defendants. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in the matter of...more
COVID-19 class actions continue to increase and are expected to spread to additional areas of law. Higher education has been one of the prime subjects of class actions thus far. To date, over 250 class action lawsuits have...more
There is a current wave of class action lawsuits against institutions of higher education. Over 150 class action suits have been filed. Students are seeking reimbursement of their tuition, room and board, and fees...more
As we enter the New Year, the end is not yet in sight for litigation related to COVID-19. Five recent decisions, summarized below, highlight the still developing legal implications of the pandemic on private party rights as...more
2020 has been a tumultuous year, but it has taught us to better prepare for the future and how to better enable schools to maintain their operations in the face of these unprecedented challenges. As schools faced shutdown...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the first ruling in response to the slew of room and board refund class actions filed in the wake of COVID-19, on July 29, 2020, in Rosenkrantz v. Arizona Board of Regents, No. 2:20-CV-01203 (D. Ariz.),...more
In an effort to balance safety with education amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities have transitioned from in-person classes to online formats. ...more
An Auburn University student claims he did not get what he bargained for in being relegated to distance learning instead of having an in-person educational experience. On June 30, 2020, Steven Bailey filed a federal court...more
Thinking back to college days may conjure up memories of large lecture halls, hands-on labs, late nights in the library, dorm parties, and tailgating. Attending college is not just about what is learned in class. It is about...more
In just two months, more than 110 class action lawsuits have been filed against colleges and universities. These complaints arise out of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced higher education institutions to close their campuses...more
ANALYSIS - Strategies to Defend Tuition Refund Class Actions - The recent spate of class actions seeking refunds for tuition and other fees paid for in spring 2020 likely heralds an even greater deluge in the coming...more
Before 2020, most people only associated the term Corona with a beer. Now, Corona will be at the heart of the American judicial system for years to come. Legal experts anticipate a significant increase in the number of class...more
At last count, there are more than twenty-seven class-action lawsuits against various universities and university systems. Unlike the earliest lawsuits which were limited to the refund of room, board, and fees, the majority...more
The outbreak of COVID-19 tuition refund class actions is as virulent as the pandemic that inspired them. In just one week, the number of tuition refund class actions against colleges and universities nearly doubled from 60 to...more
Class action lawsuits seeking tuition refunds are being filed nationwide against colleges and universities, which are already dealing with revenue loss from closing down their campuses during the coronavirus (COVID-19)...more
In response to governmental recommendations, stay-at-home orders, and shelter-in-place orders, colleges and universities transitioned to distance learning to keep their students, staff, visitors, and communities safe and...more
Nowhere is the COVID-19 virus mutating more quickly than in the cozy confines of class action litigation. From business interruption, to gym memberships, to disappointed Airbnb hosts, more and more Americans are turning to...more
Chartwell Law attorneys Andrew Klaber and Jason Hanford provide an update on the lawsuits seeking a tuition refund and discuss the strategic advantage to Universities that accept the inevitable and voluntarily discount...more