A U.S. judge on Friday approved $284 million in settlements in a class action accusing major U.S. universities of favoring wealthy applicants for admission, short-changing students who sought financial aid.
Chicago-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly approved the settlements after a hearing on the fairness of the accords, reached over many months, according to an attorney representing the students who filed the lawsuit.
"We are pleased that the settlements were approved and we are eager to get money out to class members," said Berger Montague chairman Eric Cramer, a lead attorney for the plaintiffs, after the hearing.
The proposed class action on behalf of about 200,000 current and former college students was filed in 2022 against 17 prominent colleges and universities.
The lawsuit alleged the schools violated U.S. antitrust law by breaching a pledge not to consider students' finances in making admissions decisions.
Ten schools have settled so far. Eligible class members can expect to receive at least $2,000 from the settlements, according to court records.
Among the defendants, Brown, Yale and Columbia universities agreed to pay a combined $62 million to resolve claims against them. Dartmouth and Rice said they would each pay $33.75 million. Northwestern agreed to pay $43.5 million, and Vanderbilt will pay $55 million.
Litigation is continuing against universities including Cornell, Georgetown and University of Pennsylvania.
The universities that settled have each denied any liability, as have the schools that are still named as defendants.
In settling the students’ claims, the schools have said resolutions will allow them to move past the litigation and focus on their academic missions.
Plaintiffs lawyers in the case have said they are pursuing a strategy of “increasing the settlement amounts with each successive agreement to exert pressure on non-settling defendants."
Kennelly also approved a request from the plaintiffs’ lawyers for $94 million in legal fees for spending so far more than 91,310 hours on the case, Cramer said.
The case is Henry v. Brown University, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:22-cv-00125.
Read more:
Lawyers in US college aid case ask for $94 million in legal fees
US court approves $284 mln so far in college aid antitrust settlements
Brown, Yale, Columbia among latest to settle financial-aid lawsuit
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