A federal appeals court panel has revived class action lawsuits against two major D.C. universities that seek tuition and fee refunds over campus closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The suits, leveraged separately against American University and George Washington University, allege both institutions violated their contractual commitments by transitioning to online learning and failing to reimburse students who had paid full tuition expecting an in-person, on-campus experience.
“Students … could have enrolled in one of the country’s many online learning institutions at a far cheaper cost, but opted to pay a premium for an in-person educational experience,” an appellant said in one of the original suits. “Many students undertook significant debt to make these tuition and fee payments.”
A district court judge had dismissed the cases last year on grounds that the two universities had not breached express contracts promising in-person activities and services.
But a D.C. Circuit panel voted 2-0 on Tuesday to reverse the dismissal, opining that the universities could plausibly have broken implied promises for on-campus experiences in exchange for some student fees.
The issue of whether students are entitled to reimbursement, Judge Harry Edwards wrote, remains unanswered.
“No one is claiming that the universities acted with a purpose to cheat their students. And there is much in the record to suggest that the universities did the best they could to protect and advance their students’ educational interests,” Edwards said in a 26-page opinion.
“But determining whether the transition to online learning resulted in a net enrichment to GW and American is a fact-intensive question inappropriate for resolution at the motion-to-dismiss stage.”
In response to the court’s decision, Joshua Grossman, a spokesman for GW, said the university’s “top priority is the health and safety of our community.”
“GW heeded the recommendations of public health experts and complied with District of Columbia orders by moving to remote instruction in the Spring 2020 semester in the face of the pandemic. We are thankful to our faculty, who worked hard to provide our students with a quality academic experience by distance, and to our staff for providing mechanisms for students to meaningfully engage with each other. While we are disappointed with the Court’s decision, we look forward to defending the case on its merits.”
American University spokeswoman Sandra Rodriguez said, “We are reviewing the ruling and will continue to defend our position.”
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was one of three judges who heard the appeal in January, did not take part in Tuesday’s opinion following her nomination for the Supreme Court.
WTOP’s Acacia James contributed to this story.
