Fordham University Closed Facilities But No Refunds Class Action

Among the businesses and other entities that have closed the doors to their physical locations due to the coronavirus pandemic are schools and universities. Many of these institutions are replacing in-person classes with online teaching. Fordham University is one such institution. However, the complaint for this class action alleges that although Fordham University’s online offerings are not as good as its in-person ones, and it is no longer providing the benefits of its facilities, it has not refunded tuition or fees that students have already paid for the Spring 2020 semester.

The class for this action is all people who paid Fordham Spring 2020 semester tuition and/or fees for in-person educational services that Fordham did not provide, and whose tuition and fees have not been refunded.

Fordham suspended all in-person classes for the semester on March 9, 2020. No in-person classes have been held since then. The complaint alleges that the online classes being offered instead are “subpar in practically every respect…”

The plaintiff in this case, Kareem Hassan, is an undergraduate student at Fordham College at Rose Hill. He is studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry. According to the complaint, “The Chemistry program at Fordham relies extensively on in-person instruction, peer collaboration, and access to laboratory facilities. None of these resources are available to Mr. Hassan while in-person classes are suspended.” He is therefore seeking a refund of his $12,000 tuition for the semester.

Fordham has announced that it will not refund tuition for the semester and that it will refund some fees, although not all, by 50%.

The complaint protests this: “Even if [Fordham] did not have a choice in cancelling in-person classes, it nevertheless has improperly retained funds for services it is not providing.”

The complaint quotes Fordham’s website on “Educating the Whole Person,” saying that much of a student’s growth “will occur in the classroom; much of it, though, comes from your engagement with the community and the people in it. Growing the whole person—not just intellectually but morally and emotionally—is a cornerstone of Jesuit education and a central part of the Division of Student Affairs’ mission.”

Some of the things students will no longer have the advantage of, the complaint says, include “[f]ace to face interaction with professors, mentors, and peers[,]” “[a]ccess to facilities such as libraries, laboratories, computer labs, and study room[s,]” and “[e]xtra-curricular activities, groups, intramural sports, etc.”

The complaint alleges breach of contract, conversion, and unjust enrichment.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Education, Failure To Pay For Refund, Reduction in Services Facilities or the Like