More lawsuits will soon be filed against law schools over misleading employment data, despite a dismissal of the first such case to come before a judge. But law schools are confident that most, if not all, of the lawsuits will be dismissed and never make it to trial.
“The claims are such a stretch and I will be surprised if any court proceeds into discovery,” said James Thelen, associate dean for legal affairs and general counsel at Thomas Cooley Law School in Michigan. “They don’t have a good track record. New York was a sympathetic court to the graduate’s plight. But it was crystal clear that that stopped at the courthouse steps.”
New York’s state court dismissed all claims brought by a class of New York Law School students and alumni in late March. In the opinion, Justice Melvin Schweitzer said, “the issues posed by this case exemplify the adage that not every ailment afflicting society may be redressed by a lawsuit.”
He dismissed claims of statutory consumer fraud, common law fraud and negligent misrepresentation. The Court emphasized that the school’s statements were not misleading in a material way to reasonable consumers acting reasonably under the totality of the circumstances, and applicants had a wealth of information regarding their realistic employment prospects before, during and after the onset of the Great Recession.
Thelen said the court adopted many of the arguments that Cooley has made in its case that was filed the same day.
“We went thought he opinion and are confident the judge made right decision in that case,” Thelen said. “We submitted that opinion to federal court here in Michigan, as we felt it is persuasive authority.”
Thelen said the opinion shows that these are “fundamentally not viable claims” from a legal standpoint.
But the attorney behind the lawsuits said he expects the New York decision to be overturned on appeal.
“People understand it is just one decision of a lower court,” said David Anziska, a New York-based attorney who went to University of Michigan for law school. “The judge clearly made factual conclusions on issues that at this stage you are not allowed to make factual conclusions on. We are fully confident it will be overturned.”
Anziska said he will file more lawsuits before Memorial Day. The law firm announced in late March that it hoped to file suit against 20 additional schools, as soon as it had enough plaintiffs. (See list below).
“Seventy-five law school graduates have already shown that they are willing to hold their schools accountable for the misrepresentations they may have made” Anziska said at the time. “That is a good start, but there are tens-of-thousands of young lawyers saddled with massive debt and few job prospects. I truly believe that at the end of this process nearly every law school in the country will be sued.”
Meanwhile, two lawsuits filed by Cooley against Anziska and anonymous bloggers continues to move forward.
The school recently deposed one of the anonymous bloggers. The school knows the former Cooley student’s identity, but the judge in that case is hearing an appeal from the defendant to remain anonymous. The judge previously denied a motion to dismiss.
In the case against Anziska, the court is currently reviewing whether Cooley is a public figure or not, an important point in a defamation case.
Thelen expects a decision on Cooley’s motion to dismiss in the class action suit any day.
Future Lawsuits? The schools that David Anziska and company hope to sue
1. New England School of Law (Massachusetts)
2. Western New England University School of Law (Massachusetts)
3: Roger Williams University School of Law (Rhode Island)
4. Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (New York)
5. Pace University School of Law (New York)
6. St. John’s University School of Law (New York)
7. Syracuse University College of Law (New York)
8. Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America (District of Columbia)
9. American University Washington College of Law (District of Columbia)
10. Stetson University College of Law (Florida)
11. University of Miami School of Law (Florida)
12. University of St. Thomas School of Law (Florida)
13. Loyola University Chicago School of Law (Illinois)
14. Valparaiso University School of Law (Indiana)
15. St. Louis University School of Law (Missouri)
16. Chapman University School of Law (California)
17. Loyola Marymount University Law School (California)
18. Pepperdine University School of Law (California)
19. Whittier Law School (California)
20. Seattle University School of Law (Washington)
