Doe v. Emory University, 1:20-cv-02002

Plaintiff Marc Schultz, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, filed a putative class action against Emory University after the university closed its campus in response to COVID-19 in Spring and Fall 2020.
Schultz, the parent of an enrolled student, sought refunds for tuition and certain fees not returned by Emory following the switch to online instruction.
The action advanced claims for breach of implied contract and money had and received, arguing that tuition was paid for in-person education.
The district court initially granted partial class certification but was later vacated and remanded by the Eleventh Circuit due to legal errors in the predominance and burden of proof analysis.
On remand, Emory argued and the court considered whether Schultz, as a parent, had standing to pursue these claims under evolving case law post-pandemic.
The court ultimately dismissed the case for lack of standing and, in the alternative, found class certification inappropriate due to individualized issues that thwarted predominance and ascertainability.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standing of Parent to Sue for Tuition	Schultz has injury as tuition payor	Only student has contractual rights	Parent lacks standing; no legal injury to Schultz
Class Certification: Predominance/Manageability	Common contractual and damages issues	Damages/claims require individualized inquiries	No predominance; class unmanageable
Viability of Unjust Enrichment Claim	Should be revived if contract claim fails	No personal injury to Schultz	Dismissed; no injury particular to Schultz
Burden for Class-wide Damages Model	Defendant must show no classwide method	Plaintiff must provide classwide method	Plaintiff failed to meet burden; no classwide model

Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330 (standing requires a concrete and particularized injury)
Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs., 528 U.S. 167 (sets out Article III standing requirements)
Gen. Tel. Co. of the Sw. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147 (establishes need for rigorous analysis of class certification requirements)
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338 (class certification requires common questions to predominate)
Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156 (merits of case not assessed at class certification)