University of Delaware agrees to settle class-action suit over COVID campus shutdown

DOVER, Del. - The University of Delaware has agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle a lawsuit over its campus shutdown in 2020 and the halting of in-person classes because of the coronavirus pandemic.According to court papers that were filed this month and signed by the plaintiffs and university president Dennis Assanis, some 21,000 current and former students could receive cash reimbursements.While agreeing to settle the case, the university continues to deny all allegations of wrongdoing.Court records indicate that the university reached an agreement in principle in late April, less than a month after a federal judge ruled that the case could proceed as a class action on behalf of thousands of students who were enrolled and paid tuition in the spring semester of 2020, when the campus was shut down.

Related A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit against the University of Delaware over its campus shutdown and halting of in-person classes because of coronavirus can proceed as a class action on behalf of thousands of students who were enrolled and paid tuition in spring 2020.Under the settlement, which is awaiting final court approval, the university will pay $6.3 million into an escrow account overseen by a settlement administrator.

Of that amount, plaintiffs' attorneys will receive $2.1 million in fees and up to $250,000 in reimbursement for expenses. The five students who were named plaintiffs in the lawsuit are entitled to payments of $5,000 each as class representatives.The remainder will be distributed equally among class members, consisting of undergraduate and graduate students who paid any tuition and fees for the spring 2020 semester and do not opt out of the settlement.