Purdue University Tuition, Room & Board Payback

Date Filed: 5.20.2020

Case Number: 79C01-2005-PL-000059

Location Filed: Tippencanoe Circuit Court

Plaintiff: Elijah Seslar

Summary: A Purdue University student (“student”) filed a class-action lawsuit against Purdue University demanding repayment for paid tuition, mandatory fees, or voluntary fees for privileges or services Purdue University failed to provide due to its COVID-19 related campus closure. Class Action Complaint and Jury Demand, Seslar v. Purdue Univ., 79C01-2005-PL-000059 (Monroe Cty. Cir. Ct. May. 13, 2020). The lawsuit was filed May 20, 2020, in the Monroe County Circuit Court and makes claims against Purdue University 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 Purdue University, 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 Purdue University breached its contract with students by failing to provide those services and has otherwise not performed under the contract. Id. Alternatively, Purdue University 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 Purdue University 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 2018, Purdue University's total endowment net assets exceeded $2.5 billion. Which Colleges Have the Largest Endowments?, The Chronicle of Higher Education (2020), https://www.chronicle.com/article/Which-Colleges-Have-the/245587 (last visited Jun 18, 2020).