Appeals court restores lawsuits seeking coronavirus tuition refunds

A federal appeals court has restored two lawsuits against The George Washington University and American University that are requesting tuition refunds after the schools transitioned to virtual instruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A parent of a student filed a class action lawsuit against The George Washington University in May 2020 after the school transitioned classes from in-person to online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiff argued that he should be reimbursed for tuition, room and board and other expenses because the shift to virtual learning disrupted his daughter’s education, according to The Washington Post.

Plaintiffs made similar accusations in a separate lawsuit filed against American University.

A lower court previously dismissed the two suits, rejecting claims that the schools breached “express” contractual agreements when they shifted instruction from in-person to online without offering refunds, according to the Post.

On Tuesday, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 on Tuesday that the legal actions can move forward. The court wrote in an opinion that the plaintiffs “plausibly allege that the Universities breached implied-in-fact contracts for in-person education,” referring to an implied commitment to providing in-person learning.

“Plaintiffs’ factual allegations, combined with the reasonable inferences drawn from them, suffice to support their claims that the Universities promised to provide in-person instruction in exchange for Plaintiffs’ tuition payments,” the opinion reads.

The appeals court, however, wrote that “the Universities will likely have compelling arguments to offer that the pandemic and resulting government shutdown orders discharged their duties to perform these alleged promises.”

“However, because the Universities have not raised any such defense before this court, we leave the issue to the District Courts to resolve in the first instance,” the court added.

A spokesperson for The George Washington University told The Hill in a statement on Tuesday that while the school is “disappointed with the Court’s decision,” it is looking forward to “defending the case on its merits.”

“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,” the spokesperson added in a statement. “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.”

A spokesperson for American University told The Hill on Tuesday that it is “reviewing the ruling and will continue to defend our position.”

Daniel Kurowski, a lawyer representing the families in the lawsuit against The George Washington University, told The Hill in a statement on Wednesday that the appeals court’s decision “confirms our position that the bargain between universities, students and their families in exchange for tens of thousands of tuition and fee charges each semester is more than just a bargain for credits and nothing more.”

“We are pleased with the opinion. The D.C. Circuit correctly reversed the lower courts’ dismissal and agree with the panel’s conclusion that the lower courts erred in dismissing breach-of-contract claims and implied promise to provide on-campus services, activities and in-person education in exchange for tuition and fee payments,” Kurowski added.

Roy T. Willey IV, the attorney representing the plaintiffs in the American University lawsuit, told The Hill in a statement on Wednesday that he and his clients are “very pleased” with the appeals court’s decision.

“On behalf of the students we are very pleased that the first US Court of Appeals to weigh in one these issues around the country came down on the side of fairness and the students with a correct interpretation of the law,” Willey said. “From the start the students have only asked for a fair, prorated refund for the portion of the Spring 2020 semester where they did not get the live in-person education they prepaid for and now they are that much closer to getting it.”

–Updated on March 9 at 3:08 p.m.