Robert Morris University to pay $948K to settle pandemic-learning lawsuit

Robert Morris University will pay just under $1 million as part of a proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed by a student who alleged the Moon Township college breached its contract when it transitioned to online instruction during the covid-19 pandemic.

Allegheny County Judge Alan Hertzberg this fall preliminarily approved the proposed settlement, which, if approved in February, would require RMU to pay nearly $948,000 into a settlement fund to resolve the class-action suit.

A hearing for final approval is scheduled Feb. 23.

Messages left for RMU officials and Gary Lynch, the attorney representing Claire Van Treeck, the plaintiff in the case, were not immediately returned.

In March 2020, then-Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to close in an effort to close to slow the spread of covid-19. As a result, most area colleges transitioned to online learning.

In 2024, Van Treeck, who was an RMU student during the Spring 2020 semester, filed the class action lawsuit against RMU, claiming that it was “unfair and unlawful for RMU to retain tuition and fees for campus-based in person education and services not being provided and to pass the financial losses on to its students.”

“Importantly, Plaintiff does not challenge (RMU’s) discretion in adhering to federal, state and local health guidelines, but rather challenges RMU’s decision to retain the tuition and fees, paid by Plaintiff and other students for in-person education, experiences, access to campus, and services, without providing such for the entire duration of the Spring 2020 semester,” the lawsuit states.

Van Treeck also alleged unjust enrichment as part of her lawsuit.

According to the proposed settlement, RMU denies all allegations of wrongdoing and notes that no court has found them liable, but agreed to it “considering the interests of both RMU and its students in prompt resolution of the matter.”

Class members include students enrolled in at least one class that was meeting in-person and on campus at RMU in the beginning of the the Spring 2020 semester, and paid their tuition and fees.

It’s unclear how much each class member would receive under the settlement.

According to the proposed settlement, each class members’ payment will be sent to them automatically to their last known mailing address on file with the registrar.

Students that would prefer a paper check, or payment through Venmo or PayPal, can go to rmucovidsettlement.com and make a selection there.

The website also has an option for students to opt out of the payment or object to the settlement.

Other local universities, including Pitt, Point Park, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State and Gannon, also faced class-action lawsuits brought by students on similar grounds of the transition to online instruction during the Spring 2020 semester. They also alleged breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

Settlement agreements with the schools ranged from $1.1 million at Gannon to $17 million at Penn State.