Temple University Tuition, Room & Board Payback

Date Filed: 5.5.2020

Case Number: 20-cv-02164

Location Filed: Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Summary: A Temple University student (“student”) filed a class-action lawsuit against Temple University demanding repayment for paid tuition, mandatory fees, or voluntary fees for privileges or services Temple University failed to provide due to its COVID-19 related campus closure. Class Action Complaint and Jury Demand, Ryan v. Temple Univ., 20-CV-02164 (E.D. Pa May. 5, 2020). The lawsuit was filed May 5, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and makes claims against Temple 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 Temple 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 Temple University breached its contract with students by failing to provide those services and has otherwise not performed under the contract. Id. Alternatively, Temple 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 Temple 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 February 19, 2019, Temple University's total endowment net assets exceeded $640 million. Jacqueline Palochko, The Morning Call (2019), https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-pennsylvania-college-endowments-20190131-story.html (last visited Jun 16, 2020).

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