Manhattan College Tuition, Room & Board Payback

Date Filed: 4.23.2020

Case Number: 20-cv-03229

Location Filed: Southern District of New York

Plaintiff: Czigany Beck

Summary: A Manhattan College student (“student”) filed a class-action lawsuit against Manhattan College demanding repayment for paid tuition, mandatory fees, or voluntary fees for privileges or services Manhattan College failed to provide due to its COVID-19 related campus closure. Class Action Complaint and Jury Demand at Class Action Allegtions, Beck v. Manhattan Coll., 20-cv-03229 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 23, 2020). The lawsuit was filed April 23, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and makes claims against Manhattan College for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Id. The lawsuit highlights that as a precondition for enrollment, the student was required to and did pay tuition, as did all members of the proposed Class. Id. Additionally, the student paid tuition and fees for in-person instruction at Manhattan College, which covers not just the academic education, but encompass an entirely different experience from the online program, such as face to face interaction with professors, mentors, peers, extra-curricular activities, and facilities. Id.

The suit claims Manhattan College breached its contract with students by failing to provide those services and has otherwise not performed under the contract. Id. Alternatively, Manhattan College is unjustly enriched because it continued to charge for tuition and reaping the financial benefit of millions of dollars from tuition-payers, despite sending students home, closing its campus and residence halls, and changing courses for the worse Class Action. Id.

The complaint reads, “although Manhattan College is still offering some level of academic instruction via online classes, Plaintiff and members of the proposed Class have been and will be deprived of the benefits of on-campus learning.” Id. As of September 19, 2019, Manhattan College Celebrates Public Launch of Capital Campaign | Manhattan College | Riverdale, NY, Manhattan.edu (2020), https://manhattan.edu/news/archive/2019/09/invest-in-the-vision-capital-campaign-launch.php (last visited Jun 12, 2020).

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