There Oughta Be a Law

 

May 13, 2021

 

Students attending a St. Louis-area university just won a class-action lawsuit claiming that they received a sub-standard education during the spring of 2020, due to virtual classes and other impediments. They wanted some of their tuition reimbursed.

 

They won the lawsuit. 6,000 students will get a partial tuition reimbursement.

 

In 2020, tuition at Lindenwood was $18,000.

 

The students will receive $185 from the settlement.

 

The lawyers will receive roughly $550,000.

 

So, is the goal of the lawsuit being met? Are the students benefiting at all?

 

In my opinion, a settlement should actually settle the underlying issue, which is that the kids feel that they overpaid for the quality of the education they received. $185 isn't going to do much to cover the financial loss. If they thought they'd only lost $185 worth of education, would they even have brought the lawsuit in the first place?

 

Actually, this is just an example of what happens with class-action lawsuits.

 

There should be a law that lawyers who take on these cases need to negotiate settlements that will actually cover the costs of the plaintiffs—the cancer treatment, the loss of income, what-have-you—instead of scooping the lolly and not leaving much for the plaintiffs themselves.

 

Otherwise, the company pays, but the plaintiffs still don't benefit. It's a hollow victory at best.