Temple has settled a class action lawsuit from two 2020 cases, Ryan v. Temple University and Fusca v. Temple University, agreeing to pay $6.9 million into a settlement fund accessible to any students, undergraduate, graduate and professional who were enrolled during the Spring 2020 semester, The Temple News exclusively first reported Friday afternoon.
The settlement agreement for the lawsuit was filed on Oct. 2.
According to the case, Temple breached a contract when it transitioned to remote learning after governmental shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Temple denied all wrongdoing in the action and agreed to the settlement “to avoid the expense, uncertainty, and burden of continued litigation,” a university spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to The Temple News.
“Ultimately, we determined that the cost, burden, and distraction of this litigation was not in the university’s or our students’ best interests,” the spokesperson wrote. “Rather than continue litigation, we will instead focus our attention on what matters most: educating our students and preparing them to transform the world.”
Temple initially argued against the suit, saying that the pivot to an online environment was “near seamless” and that students “continued uninterrupted with their same courses” and received full course credits, according to the university spokesperson.
Students will automatically receive payment sent to their last mailing address. If students do not pursue the cash award, they can receive Temple Football season tickets for two seasons, an alumni recreation access pass or a Temple course offered through the Non-credit or Continuing Education office, according to the settlement website.
More than 37,365 students were enrolled as undergraduate, graduate and professional students at Temple in the Fall 2020 semester, according to the university.
Temple, along with the University of Pittsburgh received the class action suit after former students sued for partial refund of tuition and fees. They argued that they received a materially different educational experience than they were promised, The Legal Intelligence reported.
A United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sided with Temple and Pitt students in an Aug. 11, 2023 opinion. The Court determined that students had sufficiently pleaded breach of an implied contract by not giving students “just enrichment” in their education and that asserted damages were cognizable.
Pennsylvania State University had a similar lawsuit, resulting in the university settling 72,000 students with a payout of $17 million in September 2024.
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