Portland-Based Education Nonprofit Sued For Study Abroad Refunds

Portland Press Herald
July 8, 2020

A class-action suit has been filed against CIEE on behalf of thousands of college students who were denied any refund of tuition, room and board, and other fees for Spring 2020 study abroad programs that were cancelled due to COVID-19.  Preti Flaherty attorneys Sigmund Schutz and Greg Hansel and California attorney Behram Parekh of Kirtland & Packard represent the Plaintiff and proposed Class Members, who paid up to $25,000 each for international educational experiences they never received.

An Excerpt

“The raison d’etre of CIEE’s study abroad programs is living and studying in a different culture – an immersive international experience that cannot be replicated by remote learning online. Students bargained and paid for an actual study abroad experience, not online education from their kitchen tables,” the complaint says."