Le Moyne College $243,206 COVID Fee Class Action Settlement

Tuition Refund · Pending — Automatic Payment

Current Status

The Le Moyne College settlement has preliminary court approval and pays eligible class members automatically, so there is no claim to file. October 19, 2026 is the deadline to submit the optional Election Form choosing an electronic payment, to opt out, or to object. The court-approved notice sets the final approval hearing for December 17, 2026, although the settlement website still lists the hearing as "to be scheduled." Final approval has not been granted, and no payment date had been announced as of September 27, 2026.

What Changed Recently?

Justice Joseph E. Lamendola of the New York State Supreme Court in Onondaga County granted preliminary approval in August 2026. The settlement website gives the date as August 20; the signed order was filed on the court's electronic docket on August 21 (NYSCEF Doc. No. 76). The order provisionally certified a settlement class under New York's class action statute, CPLR Article 9, and appointed class counsel from Leeds Brown Law and Lynch Carpenter. Notices and Election Forms went out to class members by mail and email dated September 18, 2026.

The case, Germakovski v. Le Moyne College, was filed on September 5, 2024. It alleged that Le Moyne breached its contract with students when it moved instruction and campus services online in March 2020 and did not refund tuition or fees. In June 2025 the court dismissed the tuition refund claim and the unjust enrichment claim, leaving breach-of-contract claims over the mandatory comprehensive fee and the academic and incidental fees. According to the complaint, those fees included a $500 comprehensive fee covering health, technology and activities, plus lab-related charges. The parties reached an agreement in principle on April 20, 2026. Le Moyne denies the allegations and any wrongdoing or liability, and the settlement is not an admission of liability.

Who Qualifies?

According to the court-approved notice, the class covers all Le Moyne College undergraduate students who were charged tuition and/or mandatory fees and were enrolled in at least one in-person, on-campus class during the spring 2020 semester.

The settlement agreement excludes three groups from payment: students enrolled only in online classes at the start of the spring 2020 semester, students who paid no tuition or fees, and students who left Le Moyne before March 1, 2020. A mailed or emailed notice means Le Moyne's records place you in the class. Graduate students are not part of the class as defined.

How Much Can You Get?

Le Moyne agreed to pay $243,206 into a cash settlement fund. Before anything reaches students, the fund also pays for these items, each subject to court approval:

• Attorneys' fees of up to $81,068.66, one-third of the fund
• Litigation costs of up to $20,000
• A service award of up to $2,500 for the named plaintiff
• Settlement administration costs of up to $24,990

If every request is approved in full, about $114,650 remains. That net fund is split in equal shares among all class members who do not opt out. News coverage citing court papers put the class at more than 2,000 people, which works out to at most about $57 each, and less the larger the class turns out to be. That is an OCA estimate, not an official figure. Each notice prints the recipient's own estimated award, and the actual amount depends on the final class count and what the court approves.

Checks are void 180 days after their issue date. Money left over after that goes back to Le Moyne for a general scholarship fund and/or an emergency relief fund for students.

What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?

None to be paid. Payment is automatic for eligible class members who stay in the settlement. The Notice ID and PIN printed on the notice are needed only to use the online Election Form, which chooses the payment method. They do not decide whether you are paid.