Higher Education Class Action Litigation Trends

Class actions proceedings in the US and Canada have also targeted post-secondary institutions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking compensation for school years shortened by COVID-19 or educational experiences impacted by COVID-19, reflecting amounts paid for tuition and ancillary fees. While many dozens of these education-related class actions as a result of COVID-19 have been commenced in the US to date, such class actions have been sparser in Canada.

In Canada, the following education-related class actions have been commenced as a result of COVID-19:

• A class action against a BC post-secondary institution for the partial refund of parking permits as a result of campus closures, alleging the frustration of parking contracts due to COVID-19, breaches of parking contracts, and unjust enrichment.
• A class action against 15 post-secondary institutions in Québec seeking the refund of tuition for the portion of their semester affected by COVID-19. According to a CTV news article, the students claim that with the cancellation of in-person classes across the province on March 13, 2020, they lost access to services like libraries and training seminars, and while some classes were moved online, others were cancelled entirely.

The following is a sampling of recent education-related class actions that have been commenced as a result of COVID-19 in the US:

• A class action against a private university in Phoenix, Arizona, seeking the refund of a pro rated portion of on-campus tuition, student fees, and the cost of room and board that the university has allegedly not provided and not adequately refunded. The claim alleges that due to the transition of in-person courses to an online-only format and the limited availability of the university’s on-campus facilities, the university has not delivered the educational services, facilities, access, experience and/or opportunities that the plaintiff and the putative class contracted and paid for. The claim also alleges unjust enrichment and conversion.
• A class action against an Ivy League university, seeking the refund of a pro rated portion of tuition and fees, proportionate to the amount of time that remained in the 2020 spring semester when classes moved online and campus services ceased being provided. While the representative plaintiff is a graduate student at the university, the proposed class includes all people who paid the 2020 spring semester 2020 and/or fees for in-person educational services that the university allegedly failed to provide and whose tuition and fees have not been refunded. The claim alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion.
• A class action against a post-secondary institution in New York, seeking the refund of a pro rated portion of tuition and fees, proportionate to the amount of time that remained in the 2020 spring semester when classes moved online and campus services ceased being provided. The representative plaintiff is a parent of an undergraduate student enrolled in a program who allegedly relies extensively on in-person instruction, laboratory access, meaningful student presentations, peer collaboration and access to university facilities. The claim alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and conversion.
• A class action against a post-secondary institution in Pennsylvania, seeking the refund of a pro rated portion of tuition and fees, proportionate to the amount of time that remained in the 2020 spring semester when classes moved online and campus services ceased being provided. Like other tuition and fee refund claims, the claim alleges that the tuition and fees for in-person instruction are higher than those for online institutions, because such costs cover not just academic instruction but a different school experience. The claim alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and conversion.
• A class action  against a university , seeking the refund on tuition and fees paid for services, facilities, access and/or opportunities not delivered. In addition to allegations that the putative class have been deprived of the benefits of on-campus learning, the claim alleges that the “value of any degree issued on the basis of online or satisfactory/unsatisfactory classes” is diminished. The claim alleges breach of contract and unjust enrichment.