Qureshi, et al. v. American University

The lawsuit alleges that students who attended AU during the Spring 2020 Semester are entitled to partial refunds of tuition and fees because AU transitioned to remote instruction in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with legal mandates. AU denies each and every allegation of wrongdoing, liability, and damages asserted, and AU denies that the claims in the lawsuit would be appropriate for class treatment if the litigation proceeded through trial.

The Plaintiffs’ Complaint, the Settlement Agreement, and other case-related documents are available here.

A class action is a lawsuit in which one or more persons called “Class Representatives” sue on behalf of people with similar legal claims. These people together are a “Settlement Class” or “Settlement Class Members.” The Settlement, if finally approved by the Court, resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Plaintiffs and AU have determined that it is in their best interests to settle to avoid the expenses and uncertainties associated with continued litigation. This Settlement resolves all claims asserted in the case against AU and its affiliated persons and entities. The Plaintiffs and the attorneys for the Settlement Class believe the proposed settlement is in the best interests of the Settlement Class. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by AU and does not imply that there has been, or would be, any finding that AU violated any law if the case were to move forward. AU denies each and every allegation of wrongdoing and liability in the lawsuit. The Court did not reach a decision on the merits of the lawsuit. The Court has preliminarily approved the Settlement and ordered that the Notice be provided to explain it. Nevertheless, because the settlement of a class action determines the rights of all members of the Settlement Class, the Court must give final approval to the Settlement before it can be effective. The Court has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only so that Settlement Class Members receive the Notice and have the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class or to voice their support for or opposition to final approval of the Settlement. If the Court does not give final approval to the Settlement, or if it is terminated by the Parties, the Settlement will be void, and the lawsuit will proceed as if there had been no settlement and no certification of the Settlement Class.

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you were an AU undergraduate student enrolled during the Spring 2020 Semester for whom any amount of tuition and fees were paid from any source other than a scholarship/grant from AU (e.g., your own funds, funding from a parent or other family member, loan, or non-AU scholarship/grant) for the Spring 2020 Semester, and whose tuition and fees have not been refunded in their entirety, and who is not excluded from the Settlement Class. Excluded from the Settlement Class are

1. any Judge or Magistrate Judge presiding over this Action and members of their families;
2. Defendant;
3. persons who properly execute and file a timely request for exclusion from the Settlement Class;
4. the legal representatives, successors, or assigns of any such excluded persons; and
5. AU undergraduate students who received a full scholarship from AU or otherwise were not obligated to make contributions, payments, or third-party arrangements towards tuition or fees for the Spring 2020 Semester.

The $5.439 million Settlement Fund, minus any attorneys’ fees for Class Counsel (addressed in FAQ 11), service awards for the three named Plaintiffs of up to $7,500 each, and the costs of administering the settlement, will be divided equally among all Settlement Class Members. The parties expect the payment to be approximately $400-$475 per student.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you have four options:

1. Change your payment option if you do not want to receive payment by check. More information about submitting an Election Form can be found in FAQ 7.
2. Exclude yourself from the Settlement. More information about excluding yourself from the Settlement can be found in FAQ 8.
3. Object to the terms of the Settlement. More information about objecting to the terms of the Settlement can be found in FAQ 9.
4. Do nothing now. More information about what happens if you do nothing can be found in FAQ 10.

Students will not need to take any action to receive their share of the Settlement. Students in the Settlement Class will automatically receive their Cash Award by check mailed to their last known mailing address as reflected in AU’s records.

If you prefer to receive your share by Venmo or PayPal, you may submit an Election Form to provide your Venmo or PayPal information to the Settlement Administrator here.

If any Settlement Class Members fail to cash their Cash Award checks, the money from uncashed checks will be deposited in the general scholarship fund at AU for the purpose of providing additional student aid.

You may exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you do so, you will not receive a Cash Award from the Settlement Fund. You will not release any claims you may have against AU and the Released Parties (as that term is defined in the Settlement Agreement, available for review here), and you will be able to pursue whatever legal rights you may have by pursuing your own lawsuit against AU and the Released Parties at your own risk and expense. To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a timely letter to the Settlement Administrator at Qureshi, et al. v. American University, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 2587, Portland, OR 97208-2587, postmarked by April 1, 2024. Your request to be excluded from the Settlement must include your name and address and a statement that you want to be excluded from the Settlement Class for purposes of this Settlement in Qureshi, et al. v. American University, Case No. 1:20-cv-01141-CRC, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. You cannot ask to be excluded by phone or on this website. You may opt out of the Settlement Class only for yourself; one may not purport to opt others out of the Settlement Class on a class or representative basis. “Mass” or “class” opt-outs will not be allowed.

If you are a Settlement Class Member (and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class), you can object to any part of the Settlement. You can ask the Court to deny approval of the proposed settlement by filing an objection. You cannot ask the Court to order a larger settlement; the Court can only approve or deny the settlement. If the Court denies approval, the benefits for Settlement Class Members described herein will not be provided, and the lawsuit will continue.

To object, you must file your objection in writing with the Court by April 1, 2024. Your objection must include the following:

• Your name and address
• An explanation of the basis upon which you claim to be a Settlement Class Member
• All grounds for the objection, including all citations to legal authority and evidence supporting the objection
• The name and contact information of any and all attorneys representing, advising, or in any way assisting you in connection with the preparation or submission of the objection or who may profit from the pursuit of the objection (the “Objecting Attorneys”)
• A statement indicating whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing (either personally or through counsel who files an appearance with the Court in accordance with the Local Rules)
• If you or any of the Objecting Attorneys has objected to any class action settlement where the objector or the Objecting Attorneys asked for or received any payment in exchange for dismissal of the objection, or any related appeal, without any modification to the settlement, then the objection must include a statement identifying each such case by full case caption and amount of payment received

“Mass” or “class” objections will not be allowed.

If you do not timely and validly make your objection, you will be deemed to have waived all objections and will not be entitled to speak at the Final Approval Hearing.

If you file and serve a written objection and statement of intent to appear, you may appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either in person or through your personal counsel hired at your own expense, to object to the fairness, reasonableness, or adequacy of the Settlement. If you wish to object, you must file your objection with the Court (using the Court’s electronic filing system or in any manner in which the Court accepts filings) no later than April 1, 2024. You must also send a copy of your objection by mail, hand, or overnight delivery service (or by operation of the Court’s CM/ECF system) to the attorneys representing the Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class (specifically Michael Tompkins of Leeds Brown Law, P.C., One Old Country Road, Suite 347, Carle Place, NY 11514; Paul J. Doolittle of Poulin | Willey | Anastopoulo, LLC, 32 Ann Street, Charleston, SC 29403; and Sarah N. Westcot of Bursor & Fisher, P.A., 701 Brickell Ave, Suite 1420, Miami, FL 33131) and the attorneys representing American University (Alan E. Schoenfeld of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007), postmarked no later than April 1, 2024.

If you hire an attorney in connection with making an objection, that attorney must also file with the Court a notice of appearance by April 1, 2024. If you do hire your own attorney, you will be solely responsible for payment of any fees and expenses the attorney incurs on your behalf. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot file an objection. If you object and the Settlement is approved, you will still be entitled to receive benefits under the Settlement, and will be bound by the terms of the Settlement.

Students in the Settlement Class who do nothing will automatically receive a payment by check to the student’s last known mailing address as reflected in AU’s records after the Effective Date of the Settlement Agreement. You will give up any rights you may have to sue AU about the issues in this case.

Class Representative Compensation. The Court may award reasonable service compensation to the Class Representatives for their service in the case, not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) each, which shall come from the Settlement Fund. Any such Court-ordered compensation shall be paid within twenty-one (21) business days after the Effective Date. This shall be in addition to any Cash Award that the Class Representatives may receive as Settlement Class Members.

Class Counsel Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Expenses. The attorneys who brought the lawsuit (listed below) will ask the Court to award them attorneys’ fees not to exceed thirty-three percent (33 1/3%) of the Settlement Fund ($1,812,818.70) plus reimbursement of costs and expenses in an amount not to exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00) for the time, expense, and effort expended in investigating the facts, conducting the litigation, and negotiating the Settlement. Class Counsel’s motion for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses and Class Representative awards will be filed with the Court and made available on the Settlement website no later than [date]. The Fee Award shall be payable by the Settlement Administrator from the Settlement Fund within twenty-one (21) business days after the Effective Date.

Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit against AU or the Released Parties about the issues in this case. This specifically includes any claim for breach of contract or any tort, common law, or statutory claim arising out of or in any way allegedly related to AU tuition, fees, and/or costs paid or incurred by or on behalf of any Settlement Class Member in connection with the Spring 2020 Semester. Unless you exclude yourself, all the decisions and judgments by the Court will bind you.

The Settlement Agreement is available here. The Settlement Agreement provides more detail regarding the Releases and describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions in necessary, accurate legal terminology, so read it carefully. If you have any questions, you can talk for free to the attorneys identified in FAQ 15 who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class, or you are welcome to talk to any other lawyer of your choosing at your own expense.

Cash Awards will be distributed after the Court grants final approval to the Settlement. The Parties cannot accurately predict when (or whether) the Court will grant final approval to the Settlement or whether there may be appeals from that order that take additional time to resolve, so please be patient. After the Court grants final approval to the Settlement, and after any appeals are resolved, Cash Awards will be paid within 60 days.

Updated information about the case will be made available on this website, or you can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-497-4133 or contact Class Counsel at the information provided in FAQ 15.

The Court has already granted Preliminary Approval of the Settlement. A final hearing on the Settlement, called the Final Approval Hearing, will be held to determine the fairness of the Settlement. At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will also consider whether to make final the certification of the Settlement Class for settlement purposes, hear any proper objections and arguments to the Settlement, as well as any requests for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, and service awards for the Plaintiffs that may be sought by Class Counsel. The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on May 7, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. ET, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20001. The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change by Court Order, and the hearing may be conducted remotely. Any changes, including instructions for how Settlement Class Members may attend the hearing if it is conducted virtually or by telephonic means, will be posted at this website and on the Court’s docket on PACER at http://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov. If the Settlement is given final approval, the Court will not make any determination as to the merits of the claims or defenses at issue. Instead, the Settlement’s terms will take effect and the lawsuit will be dismissed on the merits with prejudice. Both sides have agreed to the Settlement to achieve an early and certain resolution to the lawsuit, so it provides specific and valuable benefits to the members of the Settlement Class.

If the Court does not grant final approval of the Settlement, if final approval is reversed on appeal, or if the Settlement does not become final for some other reason, Plaintiffs, AU, and Settlement Class Members will be in the same position as they were before the execution of the Settlement, and the Settlement will have no legal effect, no class will remain certified (conditionally or otherwise), and Plaintiffs and AU will continue to litigate the lawsuit. There can be no assurance that, if the Settlement is not approved, the Settlement Class will recover more than is provided in the Settlement, or indeed, anything at all.

The Court has approved these attorneys to represent the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel
Paul J. Doolittle POULIN | WILLEY | ANASTOPOULO, LLC 32 Ann Street Charleston, SC 29403  1-803-222-2222  Paul.doolittle@poulinwilley.com	Sarah N. Westcot BURSOR & FISHER, P.A. 701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1420 Miami, FL 33131  1-305-330-5512  swestcot@bursor.com	Michael Tompkins LEEDS BROWN LAW, P.C. One Old Country Road, Suite 347 Carle Place, NY 11514  1-516-873-9550  Mtompkins@leedsbrownlaw.com

More details about this lawsuit and the Settlement terms are in the Settlement Agreement which, along with other documents, can be obtained here. If you have any questions, you can also call the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-497-4133 or Class Counsel at the numbers or email addresses set forth in FAQ 15. Besides the documents available on this website, all pleadings and documents filed in Court may be reviewed or copied in the Office of the Clerk.

Please do not contact the Judge, the Clerk of the Court, or American University about this case. They cannot give you advice on your options.