By Matthew Santoni

Law360 (May 18, 2020, 3:45 PM EDT ) A student at Carnegie Mellon University says the school's online learning options during the COVID-19 pandemic aren't worth the tuition she and others have paid, and she has filed a proposed class action lawsuit in Pennsylvania federal court seeking a refund.

Abigale Pfingsten, an undergraduate pursuing degrees in international relations and statistics and data science, said the Pittsburgh-based university's online-only offerings since closing its campus March 16 are inferior to the in-person instruction and facilities that Carnegie Mellon previously offered. The lawsuit she filed Friday said the university should provide her and other students with a prorated refund for the rest of the spring semester, which they had paid tens of thousands of dollars for.

"The online learning options being offered to CMU students are subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty. Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback, and critique," the complaint said. "The remote learning options are in no way the equivalent of the in-person education that plaintiff and the putative class members contracted and paid for."

Pfingsten is seeking to represent a proposed class of all Carnegie Mellon students who paid their spring 2020 tuition and haven't been issued a refund, as well as a subclass of such students just from Pennsylvania. The suit makes claims of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion against the university.

Students at colleges and universities around the country have filed lawsuits seeking refunds for tuition and fees for classes and facilities that have been canceled and closed in an effort to slow the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. Students at Carnegie Mellon's neighboring institution, the University of Pittsburgh, filed a similar suit May 8. Other suits have targeted New Jersey's Seton Hall University, the University of Southern California, Florida's state university system and Ivy League schools Cornell and Columbia.

The suit filed against Carnegie Mellon said in-person instruction was important to many programs and majors, including Pfingsten's.

"The statistics and data science, as well as the international relations programs at CMU rely extensively on in-person instruction, peer collaboration, and access to CMU's facilities. None of these resources are available to Ms. Pfingsten while in-person classes are suspended," the complaint said. "Additionally, Ms. Pfingsten was enrolled in an acting class. The acting program at CMU also relies extensively on in-person instruction, peer collaboration, student presentations, and access to CMU's facilities."

In-person classes at the school had ended when students left for spring break on March 6 and haven't been offered since. But the university had collected the full amount of tuition from students for the spring semester — which averaged about $28,000 for undergraduates — and had touted the full experience of having classes in person and on campus in its marketing, the suit said.

"Even classes for students with concentrations in areas where in-person instruction is especially crucial (such as music, theatre, nursing, and the sciences) have only had access to minimum online education options," the complaint said. "The remote education being provided is not even remotely worth the amount charged class members for spring semester 2020 tuition. The tuition and fees for in-person instruction at CMU are higher than tuition and fees for other online institutions because such costs cover not just the academic instruction, but encompass an entirely different experience."

The move to online classes breached the contract for a full, in-person education that the students had been promised in exchange for their tuition, the lawsuit claims, and the university has allegedly been unjustly enriched by retaining students' tuition money and not providing the services it was supposed to. The suit said its conversion claim stemmed from the university's alleged interference in students' "ownership right" to the in-person instruction and experiences they had paid for.

Pfingsten is seeking refunds for the portion of the semester that was moved online. The university may have had no choice but to close, given orders from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to shut down all "non-essential businesses" and for residents to stay at home for all but a few reasons, but that doesn't entitle the university to keep all the tuition money, the suit said.

"Defendant should return the prorated portion of any spring semester 2020 tuition and fees for education services not provided since CMU shut down on March 6, 2020," the complaint said. "Even if performance was excused or impossible, defendant would nevertheless be required to return the funds received for services it will not provide."

Counsel for Pfingsten and representatives of Carnegie Mellon did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Pfingsten and the proposed class are represented by Jason C. Tetlow of Tetlow Law PC, and Philip L. Fraietta, Sarah N. Westcot and Frederick J. Klorczyk III of Bursor & Fisher PA.

Counsel information for Carnegie Mellon was not immediately available.

The case is Pfingsten v. Carnegie Mellon University, case number 2:20-cv-00716, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

--Editing by Jack Karp.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.