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Law360 (April 22, 2021, 5:32 PM EDT) -- Temple University made no promise to provide in-person learning to students who launched a proposed class action in May seeking tuition refunds after the school moved its classes online due to the coronavirus pandemic, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge John M. Gallagher granted Temple's bid to dismiss the consolidated class claims brought by students Brooke Ryan and Christina Fusca, saying the students signed contracts agreeing to pay for all tuition and that the university never made a promise that classes would be exclusively conducted in-person or that refunds would be provided if classes were moved online.
Under the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement that Ryan and Fusca signed, they agreed to pay tuition for all their registered classes in exchange for uninterrupted coursework for the semester, the judge said. He said the agreement doesn't contain a specific promise of exclusively in-person instruction or unqualified access to campus facilities.
"While plaintiffs' internal, subjective expectations may have anticipated a specific instructional experience that was frustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the explicit terms of the contract create no corresponding obligation which [Temple] agreed to honor," Judge Gallagher said.
Ryan, an undergraduate student, first filed suit in May after remotely attending her spring 2020 semester classes at Temple because of the pandemic, according to the order. The university then issued prorated refunds to students for parking, on-campus housing and meal plans, the order states, but Ryan argued that the school should have also offered refunds for the lack of in-person instruction.
In September, Ryan filed an amended consolidated complaint with Temple graduate student Fusca, according to the order, before Temple filed its motion to dismiss in October.
In his order on Thursday, Judge Gallagher also rejected the students' claims for unjust enrichment, finding that the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement affords each party the right to recovery in the event of a contract breach, which precludes claims for unjust enrichment.
Temple and the students entered into an agreement that made clear their part of the bargain, according to the order.
Judge Gallagher said Ryan and Fusca haven't sufficiently pled claims of breach of contract or unjust enrichment, and dismissed the case with prejudice.
"Temple is very gratified by the court's well-reasoned and thoughtful decision applying Pennsylvania law to dismiss plaintiffs' complaint with prejudice, and will continue to support its students during these very challenging times," counsel for the school said in a statement to Law360.
Counsel for Ryan and Fusca did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Temple isn't the only higher education institution to escape such tuition refund claims in the midst of the pandemic.
The University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday partially beat similar claims that it had breached contracts by continuing to charge full tuition and fees even though students were kept off campus to avoid spreading the coronavirus, despite the university promoting the on-campus experience as a reason to enroll.
Earlier this month, an Illinois federal judge tossed a similar suit against Lewis University, saying the student hadn't alleged that the university made a promise to provide in-person classes.
New York University on March 17 dodged a tuition suit, followed by George Washington University on March 24, while Santa Clara University on March 29 beat a tuition suit brought by three law students
Ryan and Fusca are represented by Roy T. Willey IV and Eric M. Poulin of Anastopoulo Law Firm, Gary F. Lynch, Edward W. Ciolko and Nicholas A. Colella of Carlson Lynch LLP and Stuart A. Carpey of Carpey Law PC.
Temple is represented by Roberta D. Liebenberg, Gerard A. Dever and Jessica D. Khan of Fine Kaplan & Black RPC.
The consolidated cases are Brooke Ryan v. Temple University, case number 5:20-cv-02164, and Christina Fusca v. Temple University, case number 2:20-cv-03434, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
--Additional reporting by Matthew Santoni, Celeste Bott, Melissa Angell, Khorri Atkinson and Hannah Albarazi. Editing by Nicole Bleier.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
