Duane Morris Takeaway: This week’s episode features Duane Morris partners Jerry Maatman, Jennifer Riley, Katherine Brodie, and Tony Guida with their discussion of Duane Morris’ Higher Education Class Action Review, highlighting several trends and developments shaping class action litigation in this sector.
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Episode Transcript
Jerry Maatman: Welcome to our listeners. Thank you for being here today for our podcast, the Class Action Weekly Wire. I’m Jerry Maatman, a partner at Duane Morris, and today is a very, very special edition of the show. We are celebrating episode number 150 of our podcast series. We appreciate the support of our listeners and guest speakers that have tuned in and joined us every week since 2023.
Joining me today is my co-host and colleague, Jennifer Riley, a partner and vice chair of the Class Action Defense Team, and our special guests today are two team leads from the Duane Morris Education Industry Group, which this morning was recognized by Chambers as one of the top practices in that space throughout the United States. We’re very proud of our industry group lawyers. Katherine Brodie, a partner in our Washington, D.C. office, and Tony Guida, a partner in our San Diego and Los Angeles offices, are joining us today. Thanks so much, everyone, for being here.
Jennifer Riley: It’s great to be here for our 150th episode, Jerry. Thanks for having me.
Katherine Brodie: It’s great to be here, thanks for having me.
Tony Guida: Yeah, thanks, Jerry. Thanks for having us.
Jerry: Today on the podcast, we’re discussing our newly released Higher Education Class Action Review, which is available on our Duane Morris Class Action Defense Blog. Jen, can you tell our listeners a bit about this new offering?
Jennifer: Absolutely, Jerry. So, this is the final e-book in our series of industry-focused class action references that we debuted earlier in 2026. This publication analyzes the key class action rulings and developments in 2025 throughout the higher education sector. It provides an outlook on trends impacting this particular industry for 2026 and beyond. So, we really hope that higher education institutions will benefit this resource in their efforts to comply with these ever-evolving laws and legal standards.
Jerry: Let’s start with the big picture and the value-add attributes of this publication. Why focus our reference on class actions in higher education?
Katherine: Thanks, Jerry. Well, we’ve been really looking forward to this publication because class actions in higher education are highly relevant. Basically, as you know well, class actions are a tool, a very influential procedural tool in the American legal system. And that really changed the stakes of litigation dramatically – they changed the cost, the risk analysis, damages can increase exponentially. Once a class action is formed and asserted, it drives litigation strategies, settlement pressures, institutional decision making. So, I think this is going to be an incredible resource for general counsel offices, so they can understand trends and identify, you know, where there might be risk exposure for them.
Jerry: So, the bottom line is simply the possibility of class action, exposure, and litigation changes the environment in which educational institutes operate.
Katherine: Absolutely. It’s already happening. There have been some, you know, major class action attempts on different theories against institutions of higher education. There’s been an uptick in lawsuit filings. And there’s been some successful class actions where large settlements have, you know, cost a lot of money to institutions, and I think they need to pay attention. So, this, again, is going to be an incredible resource for general counsels and their staff.
Jerry: When one drills down into the analytics, what sorts of cases or varieties of class actions are schools and universities dealing with these days?
Tony: The scope is incredibly broad now. Earlier generations of higher education litigation tended to focus on isolated cases like student claims for failure to deliver promised educational services, admissions misrepresentations claims, or employment discrimination claims. As you described in the e-book, today institutions face a myriad of class actions involving tuition and fee refunds both partial and full, antitrust allegations, Title IX compliance, financial aid practices, disability accommodations, labor and employment disputes, consumer protection laws, student privacy concerns, data breaches, and even litigation connected with emerging educational technologies.
Jerry: And certainly, I would think the COVID pandemic and its impact on the educational system really accelerated the pace of plaintiff’s lawyers focusing on institutions of higher education as targets in the class action space.
Tony: Yeah, absolutely. The pandemic created an unprecedented wave of litigation. Courts suddenly had to examine questions about remote learning and how that impacted their contractual obligations of institutions, student tuition refunds, the fiduciary duties of the governing boards, and overall institutional decision-making during a global emergency. Universities were forced into legal territory that, in many respects, had never been tested at that scale before.
Jennifer: And I would like to add, one thing that our publication highlights is that this isn’t just about more lawsuits, it’s also about a changing relationship between universities and their stakeholders.
Katherine: Yeah, and I’m really glad that you picked up on that point and that trend because we’re seeing it not just with class action lawsuits, but in higher education in general. I think, you know, traditionally, folks, the public didn’t really see students as customers, per se, right, of institutions of higher education, but there’s a lot of questions being asked now about the value of higher education, and the product being delivered, so to speak, the services being delivered to students. So, it’s created a situation where I think plaintiffs’ attorneys see institutions as uniquely situated for class action litigation. Universities have large populations, expansive data sets, lots of assets in some cases, policies that cover thousands or millions of people potentially, and they’re a perfect environment for class claims, and I think that the relationship has changed, and it’s now very much in the sights of consumer advocates.
Jennifer: Right, right, absolutely. And as you know, universities aren’t typical corporations.
Katherine: Right, we deal with that every single day. Higher education is very diverse. You’ve got nonprofits, you’ve got public institutions, you’ve got for-profits, you’ve got, you know, public institutions with their constitutional obligations, you’ve got nonprofit missions, and courts have to parse that out, right? These are unique institutions in our system, the American system. There’s, you know, oversight and, that is very unique. So, courts have struggled to reconcile, sort of, the obligations unique institutions have with modern consumer protection theories, and you’ve seen that play out in some of the COVID litigation. But they’re becoming more astute at it, and I think trying to parse their way through the expectations consumers should have versus the obligations and independence that institutions should have.
Jennifer: Can you give our listeners some additional examples of how that complexity plays out?
Katherine: Right. So, in a commercial litigation situation, the contract dispute is going to be the four corners of the contract and pretty clear, right? In higher education, there’s not necessarily a contract per se, so courts have looked to what is the contract, what is the promise, and the promise being made by the institution, so they’ve looked at statements in student handbooks, whether catalogs create enforceable promises, there may be enrollment agreements involved, there may be public statements on website, we saw that during COVID about the expectation of the institution being open. So, and then there’s academic judgment issues, like when does academic judgment cross into actionable negligence or misconduct? And then damages becomes very complicated, because how does a court assess the value of education itself? And that’s really tripped up a lot of courts in the past.
Jerry: Those are fascinating issues, because it sounds like class actions against educational institutions sit at the intersection of law and policy and institutional identity.
Tony: That’s exactly right, Jerry. And as you know, our practice is unique, in that we, in addition to being lawyers, have a policy team, and we actively lobby at the federal level. So, we follow these issues, and it’s really the purpose of the Higher Education Class Action Review, as well. That publication looks at aggregate litigation involving colleges and universities and school districts from both the analytical and practical perspectives.
Jerry: I know that the publication is downloadable on phones, and it comes out as an e-book. What can readers expect from this desk reference?
Jennifer: Well, the review examines the procedural frameworks governing class certification, as well as the substantive legal theories that are most commonly asserted against educational institutions, the strategic considerations that shape litigation outcomes, and all of those things. The goal really is to give readers an analysis and some practical insights into how these cases are evolving.
Tony: And it’s really intended for, you know, general counsel at colleges and universities, administrators, litigators, risk professionals, academics, really anybody trying to understand where higher education litigation is headed, and how class action exposure is reshaping institutional decision making and risk.
Jerry: As we wrap up, what do you think is the biggest takeaway for readers that you want them to walk away from in terms of having the publication on their bookshelf?
Tony: I think that higher education litigation is no longer niche or episodic. It’s becoming a defining operation on a strategic issue for institutions nationwide. Understanding class actions now is essential for anyone involved in higher education leadership or compliance. The consequences of these cases vary significantly depending on the institution’s size, resources, and risk profile. Some institutions may face threats that go to the core of their operations. Well, larger institutions may be better positioned to defend the claims but face heightened reputational and stakeholder risks.
Jerry: Well, well said, and great summary. Jen, Tony, and Katherine, thanks so much for joining us on our 150th podcast, and for discussing the Duane Morris Higher Education Class Action Review – 2026.
Jennifer: Listeners, remember to bookmark or download your free copy from the Class Action Defense Blog. Thanks, everybody, for tuning in.
Katherine: Thanks, and congratulations!
Tony: Yes, and thank you, listeners.
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