If You Were Enrolled in a Full-Time
Undergraduate Program and You Received Financial Aid at Any Time
Between 2003 and 2024,
a Class Action Settlement Totaling
$284 Million May Affect Your Legal
Rights.
A federal court authorized this notice. This
is not a solicitation from a lawyer.
PHILADELPHIA, March 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal court
has preliminarily approved proposed settlements ("Settlements")
with the following ten defendant universities: Brown University ("Brown"), University of Chicago ("Chicago"), the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York ("Columbia"), Trustees of
Dartmouth College ("Dartmouth"), Duke
University ("Duke"),
Emory University ("Emory"), Northwestern
University ("Northwestern"),
William Marsh Rice University ("Rice"),
Vanderbilt University ("Vanderbilt")
and Yale University ("Yale"). The Court
has also preliminarily approved a Settlement Class of students who
attended the following seventeen schools (during certain time
periods): Brown, California Institute of
Technology, Chicago,
Columbia, Cornell University,
Dartmouth, Duke, Emory,
Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Northwestern, University of Notre Dame,
University of Pennsylvania,
Rice, Vanderbilt, and Yale (the
"Defendants," or "Universities," or "Defendant Universities"). As a
part of the Settlement, the Defendant Universities have agreed to
make a settlement payment of $284
million and to provide certain additional information to
Plaintiffs in this antitrust class action lawsuit
called Henry, et al. v.
Brown University, et al.,
1:22-cv-00125, pending in the United
States District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois ("Action").
The Action was brought by certain students who attended the
Universities while receiving partial need-based financial aid. The
Action alleges that the Universities conspired in
violation of the federal antitrust laws regarding principles,
formulas, and methods of determining financial aid. The Action also
alleges that as a result, the Universities provided
less financial aid than they would have provided had there been
full and fair competition. The Universities have
alleged that Plaintiffs' claims lack merit; that the
Universities' financial aid policies were legal and
pro-competitive; that financial aid awards were not artificially
reduced; that the Universities have valid defenses to Plaintiffs'
allegations; and that Plaintiffs' claims would have been rejected
prior to trial, at trial, or on appeal.
What does the Settlement provide?
The Defendant Universities have agreed to provide, collectively,
$284 million in cash for the benefit
of the Settlement Class as a part of the Settlement Fund.
Every member of the Settlement Class who (a) does not exclude
him, her, or themselves from the Settlement Class by May 13, 2024, and (b) files a valid and timely
claim during a process that will occur later will be paid monies
from the Settlement Fund. The money in this Settlement Fund will
also be used to pay the following, as approved by the Court:
- The cost of settlement administration and notice, and
applicable taxes on the Settlement Fund, and any other related tax
expenses, as approved by the Court;
- Money awards for the Settlement Class Representatives for their
service on behalf of the Settlement Class, as approved by the
Court, and
- Attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses for Settlement
Class Counsel, as approved by the Court.
Payments for claims will vary depending on a number of factors.
Assuming that about half of the estimated 200,000 Class members
submit timely claims (at a later date), and that the Court awards
the attorneys' fees and costs as requested, the average claimant
will receive about $2,000 from these
Settlements.
In addition, under the Settlement, the Universities have agreed
to provide Plaintiffs with access to certain additional discovery
as detailed in the Settlement Agreements.
For more information about the Settlement Agreements, please
visit www.FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com.
Am I eligible to receive a payment from the
Settlements?
You may be eligible to receive a payment if you are a U.S.
citizen or permanent resident who has during the Class Period (a)
enrolled in one or more of Defendants' full-time undergraduate
programs, and (b) received at least some need-based financial aid
from one or more Defendants, and (c) directly purchased from one or
more Defendants tuition, fees, room, or board that was not fully
covered by the combination of any types of financial aid or merit
aid (not including loans) from one or more Defendants in any
undergraduate year. The Class Period is defined as follows:
- For Chicago, Columbia,
Cornell, Duke Georgetown, MIT, Northwestern,
Notre Dame, Penn, Rice,
Vanderbilt, Yale—from Fall Term 2003 through February 28, 2024.
- For Brown, Dartmouth, Emory—from
Fall Term 2004 through February 28,
2024.
- For Caltech—from Fall Term 2019 through February 28, 2024.
- For Johns Hopkins—from Fall Term 2021 through February 28, 2024.
For more information, visit
www.FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com.
How do I ask for money from these Settlements?
If you are a member of the Settlement Class, you must submit a
valid and timely claim to get money from the Settlement Fund during
a process that will begin several months from now. If the Court
finally approves the Settlement, as part of the Court approved
distribution and allocation process, the Claims Administrator will
distribute to all Settlement Class members, who do not exclude
themselves from the Settlement Class, and for which there are valid
addresses, a Claim Form to complete. Members of the Settlement
Class may also contact the Claims Administrator by phone at
1-833-585-3338, by email at
Info@FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com, or visit
www.FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com if they do not receive a
Claim Form. The Claim Form will include the deadline for timely
submission and instructions on how to submit or approve the Claim
Form.
What are my other options?
If you Do Nothing, you will be legally bound by the terms
of the Settlements, and you will release your claims against the
Releasees. You may Opt Out of or Object to the
Settlement by May 13, 2024.
Please visit www.FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com for more
information on how to Opt Out of or Object to the Settlements.
Do Settlement Class members have a lawyer in this
case?
Yes. The Court appointed the following law firms to
represent Settlement Class members: Freedman Normand Friedland LLP,
Gilbert Litigators & Counselors, PC, and Berger Montague PC. These firms are called
Settlement Class Counsel. They will be paid from the Settlement
Fund upon making an application to the Court.
The Court's Fairness Hearing.
There will be a
Fairness Hearing held telephonically on Friday, July 19, 2024 at 1:00 pm CT using call-in number
1-888-684-8852, access code 746-1053.
At the Fairness Hearing, the Court will consider whether the
Settlements are fair, adequate, and reasonable and should be
approved. The Court will also decide whether it should give its
final approval of the Plaintiffs' requests for attorneys' fees and
expenses, service awards to the Settlement Class Representatives,
and other costs. The Court will also consider any objections and
listen to members of the Settlement Class who have asked to speak
at the Fairness Hearing.
This notice is only a summary.
For more
information, including the full Notice and Settlement Agreements,
visit www.FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com,
email Info@FinancialAidAntitrustSettlement.com, or
call 1-833-585-3338.
Media Contact:
Angeion Group
Shiri Lasman
(215) 563-4116
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/settlement-administrator-angeion-group-announces-proposed-settlements-with-brown-university-university-of-chicago-the-trustees-of-columbia-university-in-the-city-of-new-york-trustees-of-dartmouth-college-duke-university-emory-302095628.html
SOURCE Angeion Group