Trial News

A class action has been filed against the Arizona Board of Regents, which governs the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University, for failing to refund students’ spring 2020 semester fees when they were forced off campus amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. The plaintiffs seek prorated refunds for two months of room and board and other campus service fees, which can total more than $14,000 annually per student. The claims include breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and conversion. (Rosenkrantz v. Ariz. Bd. Regents, No. 2:20-cv-00613 (D. Ariz. filed Mar. 27, 2020).)

Much like thousands of students across the country, students at the three Arizona schools pay various campus fees, including for room and board and to use campus-based services such as athletic facilities, libraries, and recreation centers. These fees vary by school, campus, and program of study but can include annual housing fees of over $8,000, meal fees of over $5,000, and mandatory recreation and information technology fees of over $1,000.

In March 2020, the Arizona Board of Regents announced that all classes would be moving online for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The universities and the board strongly encouraged students to move out of on-campus housing and ceased services that the fees were meant to cover—such that the students claim they were constructively evicted. The University of Arizona offered students credit for a portion of the housing fees, but Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University have refused to refund any fees.

The plaintiffs acknowledge that removing students from the campuses was a responsible choice. However, they allege that the universities wrongfully retained room, board, and campus service fees they paid for the two-month period when those benefits would not be provided. While COVID-19 has placed many parties under financial stress, the plaintiffs allege that the universities, in refusing to refund fees, have forced students and their families to “bear the brunt of the stress.”

The lawsuit names two classes, a “room and board” class that paid for on-campus housing and meals, and a “fees” class that paid for on-campus services. The classes allege that the defendant entered into contracts to provide the students with meals, lodging, and on-campus services and that the schools are not excused from performance under those contracts, citing housing agreements that contain no terms excusing performance during a pandemic. If performance was impossible, the plaintiffs claim, the universities were required by contract to return funds for the outstanding services. The plaintiffs also allege that the universities were unjustly enriched by retaining the funds.

Chicago attorney Adam Levitt, who represents the plaintiffs, said that the lawsuit is intended to “encourage accountability, empathy, and simple fairness.” Levitt added that “while the universities were prudent in closing their campuses and encouraging students to vacate their on-campus housing, it is unconscionable for them to attempt to keep the many thousands of dollars in room and board fees they collected from each student, even though they have terminated the services that these fees covered. College is already a monumental expense for students and their families, and to essentially offer them no relief, particularly during a time when millions of Americans are hurting financially, is woefully inadequate, tone-deaf, and needs to be made right.”

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