Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Tuition, Room & Board Payback

Date Filed: 4.25.2020

Case Number: 20-cv-00470

Location Filed: Northern District of New York

Plaintiff: Morgan Ford

Summary: A Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student (“student”) filed a class-action lawsuit against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute demanding repayment for paid tuition, mandatory fees, or voluntary fees for privileges or services Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute failed to provide due to its COVID-19 related campus closure. Class Action Complaint and Jury Demand, Ford v. Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., 20-CV-00470 (N.D.N.Y. Apr. 25, 2020). The lawsuit was filed April 25, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York and makes claims against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 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 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 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 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute breached its contract with students by failing to provide those services and has otherwise not performed under the contract. Id. Alternatively, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 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 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 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 January 22, 2019, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's total endowment net assets exceeded $700 million. Todd Kehoe, Bizjournals.com (2020), https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2019/01/22/new-york-colleges-and-universities-endowments.html (last visited Jun 12, 2020).

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