Judge: UK students’ suit on fee refunds from COVID semester can proceed, but not tuition
A lawsuit seeking tuition and fee refunds for University of Kentucky students enrolled during the spring 2020 semester was allowed by a judge to partially go forward on Wednesday.
University attorneys previously asked the Franklin County Circuit Court to dismiss the lawsuit and its demands for partial tuition and fee refunds for students who had to quickly vacate campus in March at the local onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a Wednesday order, Judge Philip Shepherd sided in part with UK — by dismissing the suit’s demand for tuition refunds — and partially with the suing students — stating that the suit can continue to seek refunds for close to $20 million in mandatory fees.
Those fees typically help pay for additional class supplies and access to the university’s labs, gyms and other on-campus learning and recreational facilities. Most of those facilities were closed to students after the university switched to online classes, the lawsuit said.
The suit, originally filed in June in Fayette County, is yet to be finally decided. Wednesday’s order merely decided whether the case would be dismissed at UK’s request. The suit also originally claimed that the university unjustly enriched itself by not refunding the tuition and fees, but that claim was also dismissed.
“Our position is the university has inappropriately retained close to $20 million dollars in fees,” said Andre Regard, an attorney representing the students, “mandatory fees for services and facilities that the students did not have access to. And the court has ruled that we’re allowed to to continue to pursue a refund for those fees.”
Jay Blanton, UK’s spokesperson, said the university had no comment at this time, as it was taking time to review the order.
In a previous statement on the suit from June, Blanton said that mandatory fees “support critical facilities and services that students have asked to support over the years and that remained available to them, such as mental health and wellness counseling. UK will vigorously defend its position in this matter.”
Mandatory fees are paid by every student and are used to help fund the operating cost of some facilities and student organizations on campus. According to a breakdown of the fees paid during the 2019-2020 school year, a full-time student with at least one class on campus paid $160 for student health services, $131.25 for the operation of the student center and $80 for use of the Johnson Center — a large, on-campus gym. Students also paid less than $20 for the operation of student organizations like student government, student activity planning boards and the student-run radio station, WRFL, and newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel.
The university moved to online-only courses in mid-March and stayed virtual through the end of the spring semester. Many campus facilities — like gyms — were closed, while one dining hall allowed students in on a limited, to-go-meal-only basis.
A few hundred students remained in on-campus dorms, while the vast majority moved out and returned home to complete the semester. The university partially refunded housing and dining fees to those students who paid to live in the dorms. The refunds cost UK nearly $14 million.
The university’s attorneys originally moved to dismiss the suit, citing sovereign immunity — essentially stating the institution could not be sued because it’s a state agency, unless there was a statutory exception. According to the judge’s order, Kentucky law allows for sovereign immunity to be waived if a state agency breaches a “written contract.”
Regard said his office argued that a series of documents that students have to sign when they apply, accept and register for classes constitute a written contract as they state that a student is financially obligated to pay tuition and fees after enrolling in classes. UK breached that contract, the suit stated, when the university did not refund students for facilities and programs they could not access because of the pandemic.
Judge Shepherd in part agreed and waived sovereign immunity. However, Shepherd did find that the university met is contractual obligation as it pertains to tuition as students “continued to receive instruction after UK switched from in-person to online classes, and each student who completed the required assignments for each course received course credit and a grade.”
In cases related to sovereign immunity, state agencies can immediately appeal, Regard said. But barring an appeal from the university or the students, the case will move forward into discovery.
Peter Regard, Leah Ousley, Haleigh Alexandra Long, Merideth Mullin, Anna Quinn Curran, Mackenzie Putteet and Keegan Mclarney — all UK students enrolled during the spring 2020 semester — are all named as the specific students suing the university in the case.