Little v. Grand Canyon University

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided January 28, 2022·No. 2:20-cv-00795·Unknown

Opinion

WO

Carson Little, No. CV-20-00795-PHX-SMB

Plaintiff, ORDER

v.

Grand Canyon University,

Defendant. Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Carson Little’s Amended Motion for Class Certification and Appointment of Class Representative and Class Counsel. (Doc. 57.) Defendant Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) filed a Response, (Doc. 60), and Plaintiff replied, (Doc. 61). The Court held oral argument on the motion on January 25, 2022. After considering the pleadings and applicable law, the Court will now grant in part and deny in part Plaintiff’s motion. On April 24, 2020, Plaintiff filed a class action complaint (the “Complaint”) against GCU alleging that the university failed to provide proper refunds of housing expenses, meal plans, and student fees after GCU sent students home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the Spring 2020 semester. (See generally Doc. 1.) Plaintiff’s Complaint sought to bring claims on behalf of two classes: (1) those who paid room and board fees to GCU and (2) those who paid fees during the Spring 2020 semester. (Doc. 1 at 14 ¶ 51.) The Complaint brought claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and conversion. (Id. at 17–22 ¶¶ 60–103.) On January 29, 2021, the Court ruled on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint. (Doc. 40.) In its ruling, the Court allowed Plaintiff’s breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims to proceed while dismissing the conversion claim. The basic factual allegations in Plaintiff’s Complaint are as follows.1 Plaintiff is a GCU student who paid the cost of room and board and fees for the Spring 2020 semester. (Doc. 1 at 4 ¶ 9.) While Plaintiff lists in his Complaint fees which students pay, he did not specify which ones he paid for the 2019–2020 academic year. (Id. at 6 ¶ 21.) Furthermore, although the Complaint lists housing and meal plan costs, he does not specify how much he paid in housing costs. (Id. at 5–6 ¶¶ 19–20.) Students at GCU moved into on-campus housing for the Spring 2020 semester on or around January 4 and 5, 2020. (Id. at 5 ¶ 16.) Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, non-graduating students were required to move out of campus housing by April 23, 2020. (Id.) Graduating students were required to move out by April 25, 2020. (Id.) However, on or around March 12, 2020, GCU announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all but a few classes would be moved online for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. (Id. at 2 ¶ 2, 10 ¶ 33.) At that time, GCU encouraged students to return to their homes and complete their coursework online. (Id. at 10 ¶ 33.) On March 21, 2020, GCU told students, “We are asking all students— other than international students who can not travel to their home countries and students who have special circumstances—to leave campus as soon as possible.” (Id. at 11 ¶ 36.) The communication also stated that if students stayed, they would be restricted to their rooms, the campus grocery/convenience store, and the health and wellness clinic. (Id.) It also stated that students who remained on campus could expect a significant cutback of food services beginning on March 23, 2020. (Id.) On March 23, 2020, GCU announced that limited credits would be offered to students who moved out of their on-campus housing by March 25, 2020, with credits ranging from $260-$450 based on dorm location and occupancy. (Id. at 12 ¶ 39.) Plaintiff alleges that the credits offered by GCU are

1 For a more robust recitation of the factual allegations in Plaintiff’s complaint, please refer to the Court’s order granting in part and denying in part Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. (See generally Doc. 40.) insufficient because they are not the full-prorated, unused portion of students’ room and board payments. (Id. ¶ 42.) GCU also announced that, in lieu of providing refunds for meal plans, any “Dining Dollars” left in students’ accounts would roll over to the next semester. (Id. ¶ 41.) Graduating students would have their balance of the Dining Dollars refunded at the end of the semester. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that the rollover plan for the Dining Dollars was insufficient. (Id. at 12–13 ¶ 43.) GCU did not provide or offer students any refund of miscellaneous fees they paid for the Spring 2020 semester. (Id. at 13 ¶ 44.) Despite complaints and demands by students and parents, GCU stood by its policy of refusing refunds. (Id. ¶ 49.) Plaintiff left campus on March 13, 2020 and did not return to campus, in accordance with GCU’s policies.2 (Id. at 4 ¶ 9.) Plaintiff seeks the “disgorgement” of the pro-rated amount of monies paid for fees, room and board, and meal plans from GCU. (Id. at 13–14 ¶¶ 50–51.) Plaintiff offers the following definition of the class that he seeks to certify: “All students enrolled in on- campus classes at Grand Canyon University for the Spring 2020 semester and who were charged fees for services, facilities, resources, activities, and/or events that were not provided, in whole or in part, during the Spring 2020 semester.” (Doc. 57 at 2.) Class actions are governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which provides as follows: (a) Prerequisites. One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all members only if: (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

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Little v. Grand Canyon University, (D. Ariz. 2022).

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