By Dorothy Atkins

Law360 (May 6, 2020, 3:30 PM EDT) -- A Seton Hall University undergraduate hit the private university with a potential class action in New Jersey federal court Tuesday, alleging that online schooling has been "subpar" since the university stopped in-person classes due to the COVID-19 outbreak and demanding the university refund spring tuition.

In a 15-page complaint, Samuel Schoening of Lake Ozark, Missouri, claims the university hasn't delivered the educational services, facilities, access and opportunities that he and other students paid for and are owed to them under their contracts with the school.

"The online learning options being offered to Seton Hall students are subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials and access to faculty," the complaint says.

The South Orange, New Jersey-based private university suspended spring classes on March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it hasn't held in-person classes since March 10, according to the complaint.

But Schoening, who is studying international relations, with minors in German and economics, claims students haven't been given the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person "dialogue, feedback and critique," which he says is required under the contract and key to his education.

"The remote learning options are in no way the equivalent of the in-person education that plaintiff and the putative class members contracted and paid for," the suit says.

The school refused to refund any portion of the $10,640 in spring tuition and fees he has paid, the suit says.

"Even if defendant did not have a choice in canceling in-person classes, it nevertheless has improperly retained funds for services it is not providing," the complaint says.

The three-count complaint asserts claims of conversion, breach of contract and unjust enrichment and it seeks to certify a class of students who paid spring tuition. The lawsuit seeks the disgorgement of prorated tuition and fees, punitive damages, plus interest and attorney fees.

Seton Hall has more than 10,000 students and offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including a law school and business school. According to the complaint, a spring semester for the undergraduate degree costs approximately $20,730 and $27,424 for a semester of the law school, while master's degree tuition runs roughly $1,300 per credit hour. Mandatory fees for the semester total more than $1,100, the suit says.

Seton Hall University spokesperson Laurie A. Pine said in a statement Wednesday that the university has not been formally served the complaint and does not comment on pending litigation.

"The university continues to operate under government directives and executive stay-at-home orders," the statement says. "We are focused on supporting our students, faculty and community during these challenging times."

Schoening's complaint is the latest in a wave of dozens of potential class actions filed by students who accuse universities of profiting off the pandemic by holding on to tuition and meal plan fees while failing to provide quality education and campus services.

Last month, Ivy League students hit Columbia and Cornell universities with lawsuits demanding reimbursement for tuition and fees, pointing to the schools' hefty multimillion-dollar endowments.

Students at Michigan State University, Pace University, the University of Miami and Drexel University hit their schools with similar claims.

Students at University of California and California State University schools have also lodged a pair of proposed class actions that look to represent a combined 700,000 total students. Those students say the universities should have refunded prorated portions of their campus fees, particularly in light of the UC system's $21 billion endowment and the CSU system's $2 billion endowment.

On Tuesday, a University of Southern California graduate student also sued one of the nation's most expensive private schools with an endowment of $6 billion over similar allegations and highlighted that it received a $19 million payout under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act.

USC has faced a wave of controversy over the last few years. The school has been embroiled in the Varsity Blues scandal and has been accused of failing to protect potentially thousands of women for decades from alleged sexual abuse by former USC gynecologist George Tyndall.

Counsel for Schoening didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Schoening is represented by Philip L. Fraietta, Joseph I. Marchese and Sarah N. Westcot of Bursor & Fisher PA.

Counsel information for Seton Hall wasn't immediately available Wednesday.

The case is Samuel Schoening v. Seton Hall University, case number 2:20-cv-05566, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

--Additional reporting By Hannah Albarazi and Hailey Konnath. Editing by Stephen Berg.

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