Courtesy of Cassidy Schuck
By Catherine Hicks
The State University System filed a motion on Oct. 1 to dismiss the lawsuit brought forward by USF student Jarret Lafleur.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, on July 21, Lafleur brought forth allegations of breach of contract against USF for continuing to charge the same tuition and fees during the COVID-19 closures as it did during previous, in-person semesters.
In the motion to dismiss made by the State University System, they argue that the lawsuit doesn’t constitute a breach of contract because LaFleur failed to produce a written copy of any contract and identify any “actual terms” breached by the universities, according to Florida Politics.
Lafleur is a Tampa engineering student who engages in intramural sports, a fraternity and engineering societies.
He alleges in the lawsuit that because students were forced into online instruction, he was unable to experience the benefits of an in-person education.
Lafleur proposed a class action lawsuit against Florida’s 12 public universities in July, and in late-August was joined by six students representing four other Florida universities; University of Central Florida, University of Western Florida, University of Northern Florida and Florida Atlantic University.
Following the six other students joining the class action lawsuit, the original defendants, USF and the Florida Board of Governors, were dropped. The case is now against the Florida State University System and the 16 members of the Florida Board of Governors.
Lafleur and the other students in the case are seeking damages on behalf of all students at all public Florida universities who paid tuition and fees during the spring and summer semesters, which were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lafleur did not respond to The Crow’s Nest requests for comment.
