Pa. University Can’t Shake COVID-19 Tuition Reimbursement Action

PITTSBURGH — A federal magistrate judge has refused to dismiss a COVID-19 tuition reimbursement action filed against a Pennsylvania university, ruling that it may have breached an implied contract to provide students with in-person, on-campus learning.

In an Aug. 11 order, Magistrate Judge Lisa P. Lenihan of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania held that the plaintiffs have sufficiently pled that Point Park University promised in its materials a particular method of instruction for which students paid a premium in tuition and fees and broke that promise when it delivered lower-cost option that plaintiffs had previously …