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Law360 (May 20, 2020, 4:54 PM EDT ) Harvard University on Wednesday became the latest Boston-area college to be hit with a proposed class action claiming the school should refund tuition students paid for in-person classes that were forced online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The suit came two days after the same legal team from Bursor & Fisher PA and Pastor Law Office LLP filed a similar complaint against Northeastern University. The Northeastern and Harvard cases, as well as one targeting Boston University, allege students were short-changed when the pandemic ended the on-campus experience.
"As a result of the closure of defendant's facilities, defendant has not delivered the educational services, facilities, access and/or opportunities that Student A and the putative class contracted and paid for," the Harvard complaint states. "The online learning options being offered to Harvard students are subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty."
Harvard classes have been online-only since March 13 amid the public health emergency.
"Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback, and critique," the complaint alleges. "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."
But Harvard has refused to give back any tuition dollars, the suit says. The students are seeking a refund for a prorated portion of their tuition to account for the time spent learning from home.
"Even if defendant did not have a choice in cancelling in-person classes, it nevertheless has improperly retained funds for services it is not providing," the suit alleges.
Counsel for the students and a Harvard representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Massachusetts has been among the hardest-hit states in the nation from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Nearly 89,000 confirmed cases have been reported, according to the state's Department of Public Health, and 6,066 deaths have been attributed to the virus as of Wednesday.
The students are represented by Frederick J. Klorczyk III and Alec M. Leslie of Bursor & Fisher PA and David Pastor of Pastor Law Office LLP.
Counsel information for Harvard was not immediately available.
The case is Student A v. Harvard University, case number 1:20-cv-10968, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
--Editing by Daniel King.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
