Just When I Thought I Was Out, COVID Cases Pull Me Back In!

It seemed like the wave of cases in which students sued their universities for breach of contract or unjust enrichment in connection with COVID-related changes to instruction/access to campus facilities had passed.  I was ready to move from COVID-related contracts crises to Russian/Ukraine-related contracts crises.  Instead we’ll just add a sharknado to the dumpster fire that is our reality.

Last week, deciding consolidated cases, the D.C. Circuit revived student suits against George Washington University (Shaffer v. George Washington University) and American University (Qureshi v. American University).  In both actions, plaintiffs alleged that the universities violated contractual commitments or were unjustly enriched “when they transitioned to online educational activities and declined to refund any portion of their students’ tuition payments and fees.” 

While the plaintiffs had not stated a claim as to breach of any express contract, the court held that they had alleged breach of implied contracts relating to tuition and to some, but not all, of the fees at issue in the cases.  Notably the court observed that the universities “will likely have compelling arguments to offer that the pandemic and resulting government shutdown orders discharged their duties to perform these alleged promises.”  But the case had to be remanded to the district court to hear those defenses in the first instance.  The court also reinstated plaintiffs’ unjust enrichment claims and claims under a consumer protection statute.

H/T John Wladis