On February 28, Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District Court of Illinois preliminarily approved an antitrust class action settlement involving the University of Chicago, in which the University will pay $13.5 million. The settlement was reached in the lawsuit Henry, et al. v. Brown University, et al., which alleges that UChicago, among sixteen other universities, was part of a price-fixing cartel that determined financial aid amounts in violation of antitrust laws.
10 out of the 17 universities involved in the lawsuit have reached settlement agreements so far with the plaintiffs, with a total settlement sum of $284 million. Per the press release, the plaintiffs assert that the universities participated in “wealth favoritism in the admissions process for families capable of making large donations to the university,” and “engaged in collusive behavior concerning the award of financial aid.” According to a court notice, the plaintiffs are alumni of the defendant universities who received partial need-based aid.
The $13.5 million paid by UChicago will go to members of the settlement class. For UChicago, eligible class members are required to have attended the University between fall 2003 through February 28, 2024 and received partial financial aid. Current or former students whose entire cost of attendance was covered are not considered part of the class.
The actual amount of the individual payments does not reflect how much money the class member paid in tuition. Per the settlement website, the settlement class is estimated to include 200,000 former and current students. Members of the class can exclude themselves from the settlement until May 13, 2024. If final approval for the settlement is granted during a hearing on July 19, members of the class can submit a claim in order to receive a payment and can expect to be paid as much as $2,000 in cash.
“These new settlements will significantly increase the compensation to the class members for the harm we allege the Defendants’ cartel caused,” Ted Normand, member of the plaintiffs’ lead counsel and partner at Freedman Normand Friedland LLP, wrote in a press release.
The lawsuit was originally filed in January 2022. UChicago filed to have the lawsuit dismissed but was denied in fall of 2022. UChicago was the first of the universities to settle, announcing its intention to do so in spring 2023.
“We look forward to the court’s resolution of our motion for final approval of the settlements this summer,” Normand wrote in an email to the Maroon.
Further information on how a class member can apply for a payment can be found here.
