The parents of two University of Arizona students filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday seeking refunds for room, board and fees from the body that oversees Arizona's three public universities after classes moved online in the wake of COVID-19.

The lawsuit, filed against the Arizona Board of Regents, seeks class action status on behalf of all people who made those payments at ASU, UA and NAU for the spring 2020 semester and who subsequently lost the benefits they paid for. It also seeks a jury trial.

The lawsuit comes as students have started petitions and sent letters to universities trying to get money back.

While dorms remain open at all three universities, most students have left campus and are staying elsewhere, and the universities have encouraged students who can live somewhere else to do so.

The Board of Regents and universities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Room and board plans cost thousands of dollars per year for students and vary depending on which campus, which dorm and what meal plans are chosen. Students also pay hundreds in fees for services like health clinics, athletics and recreation centers that they may not be using now if they have moved off campus.

The University of Arizona is providing a housing and meal plan credit to students, while Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University have said they are not offering any refunds at this time.

"ABOR is, in essence, profiting from this pandemic," the lawsuit alleges.

What the lawsuit alleges

The lawsuit is claiming breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion, all of which resulted from students not receiving the services they paid for or refunds for those services. The two students whose parents filed the suit left campus in March.

Adam Levitt, partner at DiCello Levitt Gutzler of Illinois and co-counsel for the plaintiffs, said this is the firm's first lawsuit against universities related to COVID-19 refunds, but the firm has heard from students and parents at other universities and could pursue more legal actions. Andrew Rosenkrantz and Susan and Christopher Bishop, based in Illinois, are the plaintiffs in the Arizona filing.

“What they’re doing just isn’t right, and the purpose and goal of our lawsuit is to ultimately require the Arizona Board of Regents to return those funds to the rightful owners of those funds, the students and their parents,” Levitt said.

The plaintiffs are seeking pro-rated refunds based on the days the services weren't used.

The suit acknowledges that moving classes online and encouraging students to leave campus was a responsible decision, but passing costs for unused services onto students was not, the plaintiffs argue.

"Rather than acknowledge the difficult financial stresses that COVID-19 has placed on families, University students in Arizona and their families were expected to bear the brunt of the stress," the lawsuit says.

Three law firms are listed on the case: DiCello Levitt Gutzler of Chicago, the Law Offices of Robert D. Ryan of Phoenix, and Matthew S. Miller LLC of Chicago.

Lawsuit says UA credit not sufficient

At UA, students can get a check or credit to their checking account for this year's housing, or a larger credit added to their university account to be applied toward 2020-21 housing costs. The options range from about $640 up to more than $2,500, depending on the type of housing and which option is chosen, charts on the university's website show.

For meal plans, students can either get 10% of their costs refunded as a rebate, or 20% of their costs applied as a credit toward next year's meal plans (about 20% of the semester remains).

Levitt said the UA credits are insufficient because they aren't covering the full amount lost and would require students to live in the dorms or buy meal plans next year, which they may not intend to do.

ASU President Michael Crow previously said that talk of refunds was inappropriate at this time, in the midst of so many COVID-19 concerns.

"The funny thing is that somebody declares a national emergency and they're talking about bringing out martial law in California. And then people ask us, are we going to give them a refund? Are you kidding me? I mean, that's what you want to talk to us about is a refund?" Crow said.

"So, like I said, we're offering full, full service. We'll sort all of this out at some point, but we're not going to sort it out now. That's like 48th on a list of 48 things."

Reach reporter Rachel Leingang by email at rachel.leingang@gannett.com or by phone at 602-444-8157, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

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