Crawford v. Presidents & Dirs. of Georgetown Coll.

• Decision Date: 07 May 2021
• Docket Number: 20-cv-1454 (CRC),Case Nos. 20-cv-1141 (CRC),20-cv-1555 (CRC),20-cv-1886 (CRC),Case Nos. 20-cv-1539 (CRC)
• Citation: 537 F.Supp.3d 8
• Parties: Daria CRAWFORD and Ahmed Abdelhamid, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. The PRESIDENTS AND DIRECTORS OF GEORGETOWN COLLEGE, Defendant. Maaz Qureshi, Matthew Rabinowitz, and Danish Arif, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. American University, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

537 F.Supp.3d 8

Daria CRAWFORD and Ahmed Abdelhamid, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs,

v.The PRESIDENTS AND DIRECTORS OF GEORGETOWN COLLEGE, Defendant.

Maaz Qureshi, Matthew Rabinowitz, and Danish Arif, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs,

v.American University, Defendant.

Case Nos. 20-cv-1539 (CRC)

20-cv-1886 (CRC)

Case Nos. 20-cv-1141 (CRC)

20-cv-1454 (CRC)

20-cv-1555 (CRC)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed May 7, 2021

Joseph Marchese, Pro Hac Vice, Philip Lawrence Fraietta, Pro Hac Vice, Buror & Fisher, P.A., New York, NY, Sarah Westcot, Pro Hac Vice, Bursor & Fisher P.A., Miami, FL, Jonathan B. Nace, Nidel & Nace, PLLC, Rockville, MD, for Plaintiffs DARIA CRAWFORD, AHMED ABDELHAMID.

Alan E. Schoenfeld, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, LLP, New York, NY, Bruce M. Berman, Jamie Shona Gorelick, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHRISTOPHER R. COOPER, United States District Judge

As the COVID-19 pandemic upended daily life in spring 2020, countless institutions of higher education suspended in-person classes and activities and temporarily moved them online. Two of those institutions were Georgetown University and American University. In these putative class actions, Georgetown and American students seek a partial refund of tuition and fees they paid for the spring 2020 semester. The students do not dispute that it was reasonable under the circumstances to pause on-campus education, but they claim that the universities owe them compensation for failing to deliver a full semester of the traditional college experience that the students reasonably expected when they enrolled. The universities have moved to dismiss those claims.

Georgetown and American are not alone in facing litigation over the interruption of in-person learning due to COVID-19. Many similar cases have been filed across the country, and courts have divided on whether these complaints raise plausible claims for breach of contract and other causes of action. As these mixed results suggest, these cases raise difficult legal issues and require close attention to the facts alleged against each individual university.

After careful consideration, the Court concludes that the Georgetown and American students have failed to state valid claims. The Court has no trouble accepting that the students expected a campus-based semester. Under normal conditions, the universities might be obligated to fulfill that expectation. Yet, the students’ allegations do not support a plausible inference that the universities promised away their discretion to make reasonable modifications in response to radically changed circumstances, such as moving classes online to keep students and faculty safe during the deadly and uncertain early months of a once-in-a-century pandemic. The Court will therefore dismiss the claims against both universities.

I. Background

A. Factual Allegations as to Georgetown

The following facts are alleged in the Amended Complaint in Crawford v. Presidents and Directors of Georgetown College, No. 20-cv-1539 ("Georgetown Am. Compl."), or drawn from other documents that the Court may consider at the pleading stage.¹ Georgetown University is a private research university in Washington D.C., with approximately 19,000 students enrolled across its undergraduate and graduate programs. Georgetown Am. Compl. ¶ 2. For the spring 2020 semester, plaintiff Daria Crawford was enrolled as an undergraduate at Georgetown, and plaintiff Ahmed Abdelhamid was enrolled as a law student. Both plaintiffs paid tuition for the semester. Id. ¶¶ 19–20. They also paid certain fees. Specifically, Ms. Crawford paid a mandatory "Student Activities Fee" that "fund[s] various activities throughout the year, including concerts, lectures, performances, discussion groups, recreational opportunities, and other co-curricular programs," while Mr. Abdelhamid paid a "Graduate Student Activity Fee." Id. ¶ 21.

When they agreed to enroll at Georgetown, plaintiffs allege that they understood themselves to have purchased a contractual right to an on-campus education, including in-person instruction. Id. ¶¶ 3, 21. In plaintiffs’ telling, "[t]he terms of the contractual agreement were set forth in publications from Georgetown University, including Georgetown University's Spring Semester 2020 Course Catalog ..., the [school's] marketing materials, and Plaintiffs’ acceptance letter." Id. ¶ 3. For example, Georgetown's electronic course catalog indicated "the location (including the building and room number) in which courses would be held" and allowed users to filter course selections for "In Person" classes, id. ¶¶ 5–6; Georgetown course syllabi specified that the courses would be taught in person and that student attendance was required, id. ¶ 23; and the school's website "market[ed] the Georgetown on-campus experience as a benefit of enrollment," id. ¶ 37.

Elsewhere in its official publications, Georgetown reserved certain rights to itself. Its Undergraduate Bulletin states that the university "reserves the right to change without notice the Undergraduate Bulletin, including all rules, policies, fees, curricula, courses, graduation requirements, or other matters contained therein," Georgetown Undergraduate Bulletin at 2, No. 20-cv-1539, ECF No. 19-1, as well as "the right to increase tuition and other fees without prior notice should conditions be such that an increase is warranted," id. at 21. The Georgetown Law Center Handbook similarly notes that "[t]he Law Center reserves the right to change academic requirements and policies," Georgetown Law Handbook at iii, No. 20-cv-1539, ECF No. 19-2, and that "[t]uition and fees are subject to change without prior notice," id. at 140.

On March 11, 2020, Georgetown announced that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would suspend all in-person classes and transition to online learning for the rest of the semester. Georgetown Am. Compl. ¶ 12. Accordingly, "Georgetown did not provide in-person education, experiences, or related services for approximately 50% of the Spring Semester 2020." Id. ¶ 15. Georgetown has not issued any refund of tuition or mandatory student fees as a result of this temporary shift to online education. Id. ¶ 16.

B. Factual Allegations as to American

The facts alleged against American University are largely similar to those in the Georgetown complaint. Like Georgetown, American is a private university located in D.C. American Am. Compl. ¶ 6. Plaintiffs Maaz Qureshi, Matthew Rabinowitz, and Danish Arif were enrolled as full-time undergraduate students at American for the spring 2020 semester. Id. ¶ 13. They paid tuition for the semester, id. ¶ 127, plus mandatory fees including an "activity fee," a "sports center fee," a "technology fee," and a "Metro U-Pass fee," id. ¶¶ 33, 164.

The American students allege that "[t]hrough its website, marketing material, advertisements, and other literature, the University sells on-campus instruction and the on-campus experience as key reasons that a student should choose to attend American." Id. ¶ 24. They cite examples including American's online course catalog, which lists the location of courses and allows students to filter courses by location, id. ¶¶ 118–19; "syllabi and other documents that referenced class meeting schedules, locations, and physical attendance requirements," id. ¶ 124; the university's publicly stated policy against offering "online degrees," id. ¶ 86; the fact that American's non-degree-granting online programs are discussed on a separate page of its website, id. ¶¶ 115–16; the "University Life" page on American's website, which "touts such things as Greek life, athletics, and student organizations," id. ¶ 25; the university's representation that "DC serves as a laboratory of learning for students," id. ¶ 26; a promotional video "welcoming the viewer to, ‘Our sleepy little college town,’ " id. ¶ 89; and a program offering overnight campus visits to prospective students as part of American's recruiting pitch, id. ¶¶ 107–08.

The American University Catalog contains a reservation of rights similar to the ones in Georgetown's publications: "American University reserves the right to amend the policies and information contained in the University Catalog from time to time, with or without notice." American Catalog at 1, No. 20-cv-1141, ECF No. 27-2. Separately, the American Catalog discusses the basis for calculating students’ tuition. According to the Catalog, "[u]ndergraduate students who register for fewer than 12 credit hours are charged tuition per credit hour based on the number of credit hours taken." Id. at 2. By contrast, "[u]ndergraduate students who register for 12 to 17.5 credit hours are charged for tuition at a flat full-time rate of $24,535." Id. The Catalog then explains: "The off-campus tuition rate differs from the rate for on-campus courses. However, full-time undergraduate students who register for courses both on and off campus are assessed tuition at the on-campus full-time rate." Id.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, American shifted its instruction to a fully online format starting March 18, 2020 and continuing through the end of the spring 2020 semester. American Am. Compl. ¶¶ 46–47. The university encouraged students to leave campus and advised them that there would be no activities there. Id. ¶ 48. According to the plaintiffs, the online learning experience was "sub-par in practically every aspect" compared to the in-person education they had been receiving before the pandemic. Id. ¶ 52. They note that the University Provost has expressed sympathy to students who lost the benefits of on-campus education, id. ¶ 53, and that American has offered discounts on tuition to students who were unable to take their summer 2020 and fall 2020 courses in person, id. ¶¶ 55–57.

C. Procedural Background

Ms. Crawford...