BUZZ
Students say they should be reimbursed for services they paid for but didn’t receive
Former University of Florida students may sue the institution for shutting down paid-for services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Florida Supreme Court ruled this week.
The high court reversed an appeals court decision rejecting the class-action lawsuit, which demands that students be reimbursed for services that they paid for but did not receive due to the 2020 shutdown, The News Service of Florida reports.
These services included athletics, healthcare, and transportation paid for out of student fees, according to the report:
A panel of the appeals court in 2022 said an Alachua County circuit judge should have dismissed the lawsuit because of sovereign immunity, which generally protects government agencies from liability.
But sovereign immunity does not apply in breach-of-contract lawsuits, and the Supreme Court said the appeals court did not properly consider “permissible implied covenants” in agreements between the university and students. It also said the appeals-court ruling would have imposed a requirement for “extraordinary specificity in government contracts.” …
The opinion did not determine whether the named plaintiff in the case, Anthony Rojas, and other people who were students at the time of the UF campus shutdown should receive refunds. It also didn’t foreclose the possibility that sovereign immunity could apply in the case but said that issue is “subject to further litigation.”
The decision could affect similar lawsuits against other Florida universities, which also have been awaiting action before the state Supreme Court, the report states.
Across the country, court decisions have varied regarding students’ cases against their universities’ actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024, the University of Chicago reached a $5 million settlement with students who requested tuition refunds, The College Fix reported. However, other students’ cases have been dismissed, and still more are ongoing.
Many universities shut down, closed dorms, and switched to remote classes in the spring of 2020. When they re-opened, many institutions began requiring students and staff to obtain COVID vaccinations if they wanted to return to campus, which led to other lawsuits.
MORE: No more COVID vaccines: Last few colleges drop mandates after Trump order
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A brick wall displays the University of Florida name; Katherine Welles/Shutterstock
