At the very least, this illustrates the use of the judiciary to address a civil grievance in federal court.
Among the concepts implicit in this story are the following:
- the judiciary.
- U.S. District Judge.
- State Attorney General.
- litigation.
- oligarchy / plutocracy.
- judicial federalism.
- class action lawsuit.
- conspiracy.
- plaintiff.
- defendants.
- price fixing.
- antitrust.
- federal financial aid.
- interest groups.
- Click here for the article.
- Click here for a related article.
The University of Chicago agreed this week to pay $13.5 million to resolve claims it conspired with 16 other elite schools — including most members of the Ivy League — to limit financial aid for admitted students.
It is the first defendant in the lawsuit, which was filed in Illinois federal court in January 2022, to settle. Attorneys for eight former students who brought the class-action lawsuit declined to discuss whether other agreements are in the works but said the deal with the University of Chicago is a critical step forward.
“This settlement … underscores once again the strength of the plaintiffs’ case and further shines the spotlight on the defendants who have not yet stepped up to do the right thing for their students and alumni,” said Robert D. Gilbert, managing partner at Gilbert Litigators and Counselors, which is representing the former students along with the firms Freedman Normand Friedland and Berger Montague.
. . . The lawsuit alleges that 17 colleges and universities use a shared methodology to calculate financial need in a way that reduces institutional dollars to students from working- and middle-class families. Attorneys estimate that approximately 200,000 students have been harmed by the practice in the past 20 years.
The settlement would provide cash payments to the entire class, not just those who attended the University of Chicago.
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- FYI: Here is Chicago's endowment. They're gonna be ok.
