Court revives student's COVID-related lawsuit against Ball State
MUNCIE, Ind. — A student's class-action lawsuit against Ball State University stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic has been revived by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Keller J, Mellowitz's suit — first filed in Marion Superior Court 1 in May 2020 — accused the university and its board of trustees of "breach of contract and unjust enrichment" over decisions to cancel in-person classes and close campus facilities in 2020 due to the pandemic.
After the suit was filed, the Indiana General Assembly enacted a law banning class-action lawsuits against colleges and universities under such circumstances related to COVID.
A Marion County judge told Mellowitz to re-file his suit without including "class allegations."
Mellowitz appealed that ruling, and the appeals court in recent days decided the 2020 law concerning class-action suits was in conflict with a long-standing Indiana trial rule.
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The appeals panel reversed the Marion County judge's ruling, and ordered the case returned to that court "for further proceedings consistent with this decision."
In his suit, Mellowitz said he was enrolled at Ball State for the spring 2020 semester when the university "sent students home, cancelled in-person classes and closed campus facilities as a result of COVID-19," the appeals court reported in a summary.
The student noted he had been required to pay "numerous fees" to enroll at Ball State, including "in-person tuition, student services fees, university technology fees, student health fees, and student transportation fees."
In the early days of the 2020 pandemic, Ball State spokesperson Kathy Wolf told The Star Press there would be no consideration of reimbursing tuition because of how the university reacted during those extraordinary times.
"We have decided not to refund tuition because, through our prompt and effective transition to remote learning and other alternative teaching and learning activities, our faculty and staff enabled our students to complete their courses and continue making satisfactory progress toward earning their degrees," Wolf said.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Court revives student's COVID-related lawsuit against Ball State
