(Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
At the beginning of June, Harvard Law announced that it would host all Fall 2020 classes in an online format due to the continuing health risks of the coronavirus outbreak, making it the first law school in America to go fully remote for the upcoming semester. Despite being online for several months, tuition at the elite school will remain flat at $65,875 for 2020-2021 academic year, and HLS will be eliminating the pass/fail grading used during height of the coronavirus outbreak, resuming regular grading. Students concerned about inadequate spaces for remote work were reportedly advised to take out extra loans and “rent office space” to study from. Needless to say, students are quite angry — and now one of them has filed a class-action lawsuit against the school.
Meet Abraham Barkhordar, a rising second-year student at the school. He was forced to move home to California in the middle of the Spring 2020 semester and felt like the remote learning environment put him at a significant disadvantage. Not only did he have to wake up at 5 a.m. to participate in class, but because he was unable to use the library and participate in study groups, he began to fall behind in his studies.
“I decided to sue Harvard because while they did make some effort … the first semester we were online to mitigate things, they just have not lowered tuition,” Abraham Barkhordar, 23, told ABC News in an exclusive interview.
“They’ve actually suggested that to mitigate the difficulties of online learning that we rent office space as students,” said Barkhordar. “I just felt overall disrespected and unheard by the administration. And I think, as I’ve learned this year, the way to get justice in America is through the legal system.”
Barkhordar is suing the school for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and conversion. (At least he learned some basic contract law during his time at the school.)
“This is one of the oldest, most prestigious law schools in the world,” Barkhordar told ABC News. “And that they’re hanging their students out to dry — and that they’re suggesting us to rent office space with our own money — is frankly ridiculous. And I’m glad the justice system gives me an opportunity to stand against it.”
Incoming and current law students were given several weeks to decide whether to defer their studies for a year. But Barkhordar’s complaint argues that the choice between paying “outrageous tuition” for online classes and disrupting their education isn’t much of a choice at all. The class action, which is seeking upward of $5 million for members, claims breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and conversion.
“Plaintiff and Class Members did not intend to attend an online educational institution, but instead enrolled in Defendant’s institution on an in-person basis,” the suit reads. “The online learning option Defendant offers is subpar in practically every aspect. The remote learning option is in no way the equivalent of the in-person education putative Class Members were promised when they committed to attend Harvard.”
Best of luck to Abraham Barkhordar as he attempts to do battle against Harvard Law.
(Flip to the next page to read the complaint.)
ABC News Exclusive: Harvard Law student sues university over tuition prices as classes remain online [ABC News]
‘Subpar in Every Aspect’: Harvard Law Student Sues Over Online Classes [Law.com]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.