(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The University of Chicago will pay $4.95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by current and former students seeking refunds on tuition after classes went remote amid the COVID-19 hysteria.
In May 2020, former student Arica Kincheloe filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, saying that students were entitled to partial refunds of tuition because they were forced to study inside their homes, instead of going to classes in-person beginning in the spring quarter of 2020, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The lawsuit also claimed that there was a breach of contract and unjust enrichment by the university.
The settlement applies to current and former students enrolled in any of the university’s undergraduate and graduate programs between Jan. 1, 2020, through the end of the spring quarter of 2020. Those students who studied at the university during that time will receive at least $25 from the settlement.
“The university is proud of the rigorous educational experience and support it provided to students when it moved to remote learning for the spring quarter of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The university believes plaintiffs’ claims are without merit and looks forward to putting this matter behind us,” the university said.
The court documents said the parties entered a settlement agreement on Nov. 21, 2023. On Dec. 7, 2023, the court granted preliminary approval of the settlement, with the final approval being granted after a hearing on May 23, 2024.
The court documents stated that the settlement agreement “should not in any event be offered or received as evidence of, a presumption, concession or an admission of liability” on the part of the university.
