N.Y. Federal Judge Pares Down Tuition Refund Actions Against Columbia, Pace Universities

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has trimmed claims of unjust enrichment and conversion from a COVID-19 tuition refund action against two universities, ruling that they are based upon the same allegations underlying the plaintiffs’ contract claims.

In a Feb. 26 order, Judge Jesse M. Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York also dismissed the claims for violation of the New York General Business Law, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to specify any misrepresentations made by the universities.

However, the judge allowed the claims for breach of contract to proceed to the …