Class Actions Demand N.Y. Universities Refund Tuition, Fees for COVID-19 Closures

NEW YORK — Columbia, Cornell and Pace Universities were each hit with class actions filed by students demanding partial refunds of tuition and fees arising from the colleges’ cancellation of in-person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the complaints, filed April 22 and 23 in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of New York, the plaintiffs say they have lost the benefits of in-person instruction and student activities for which they had already paid for an entire semester, and are therefore entitled to a refund.

In March, Columbia, Cornell and Pace announced that all classes …