SEATTLE – A national team of class-action attorneys at Hagens Berman is investigating all U.S. universities and colleges on behalf of students seeking refunds for tuition, room and board, and other expenses during campus closures due to COVID-19.

The law firm has so far sued several universities on behalf of students and parents of students and has in its 28 years recovered more than $320 billion on behalf of classes of individuals suing for their rights to reimbursement. If you are paying for college tuition, and/or room and board at any U.S. college or university closed due to COVID-19, find out more about the lawsuit and your rights.

What University and College Students Need to Know

Attorneys at Hagens Berman are actively pursuing claims on behalf of students and have compiled an informational checklist of what they need to know amid the outbreak of COVID-19, recognizing that online classes are an inadequate substitute for the in-person experience that students bargained for:

• Even if your school has partially paid for your spring 2020 semester, you may be entitled to more refunds. Attorneys say that in many instances, the repayment offered from schools has not been fair or adequate. You could be entitled to more than your school is offering, if they are already doing so.
• College students have successfully sued major institutions in class actions. Hagens Berman’s legal team has represented classes of college students before, achieving a $208 million settlement against the NCAA concerning student scholarship limits, a combined $60 million settlement against Electronic Arts and the NCAA regarding player likeness rights in videogames, and an additional settlement valued at $75 million regarding concussions in D1 NCAA sports.
  Attorneys say that students shouldn’t settle for paying for their spring 2020 semesters given the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Hagens Berman has taken on universities to protect students’ rights. While many law firms are pursuing litigation against higher ed. schools, Hagens Berman has achieved real results. The firm led a landmark sexual harassment class action against USC resulting in a $215 million settlement with the university and its former full-time gynecologist, Dr. George Tyndall. Approximately 18,000 individuals are covered by the settlement.
• There is strength in numbers. Compared to individual actions, petitions and informal requests, class-action lawsuits offer parents and students a unique advantage to achieve their goal of repayment for their losses.
• You have rights. Attorneys at Hagens Berman are evaluating and bringing claims against universities under state laws, including claims include breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion.

Higher Ed. Institutions: Endowments and Government Funds

Many universities failing to repay tuition, room and board and other expenses to those paying for the spring 2020 semester are recipients of major endowments, fundraising campaigns, and even funds from the federal government as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), to the tune of millions of dollars.

University fundraising efforts can top $1 billion in donation campaigns, and revenues have often increased, for some schools by more than 60 percent, year over year.

So far, Hagens Berman represents students and parents in lawsuits against Boston University, Brown University, Duke University, Emory University, George Washington University, the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis for failure to repay tuition-payers for their losses, and several additional cases are pending.

Hagens Berman is investigating the rights of those who are currently paying or have already paid for room and board, and/or tuition at all U.S. colleges and universities forces to close due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This may include parents, guardians or college students paying for their own costs of college.

Despite orders from colleges and universities sending home students and closing campuses, these institutions of higher learning continue to charge for or retain tuition, fees, and room and board. Collectively, these institutions are continuing to receive or retain millions from students despite their inability to continue school as normal, or occupy campus buildings and dorms.

Find out more about the class-action lawsuit against colleges and universities for tuition, room and board and other costs incurred during the outbreak of COVID-19.

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with nine offices across the country. The firm’s tenacious drive for plaintiffs’ rights has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” and MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

Media Contact
Ashley Klann
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206-268-9363