KTLA

The statue of Tommy Trojan on the USC campus is seen in a file photo. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

USC students are suing the school for not refunding tuition and fees after the university canceled in-person instruction because of the coronavirus public health threat, a law firm said Tuesday.

The class-action lawsuit, Watson vs. the University of Southern California, alleges that USC is unlawfully refusing to refund all or part of students’ spring 2020 tuition, fees and meal plans, “despite the dramatically lower quality and less valuable education and services now being provided,” according to the complaint, which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California.


“Essentially, students have paid Defendants for access to buildings they can no longer enter, technology the University is not providing, activities that are not available, and meals that will never be served,” the complaint says. “USC is thus profiting from COVID-19 while further burdening students and their families.”

The lawsuit against USC follows others filed against the University of California and California State University last week alleging that the university systems owe millions of dollars to students who can no longer use health facilities, student centers and other services paid for by fees.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.