University of Miami. Photo: YES Market Media/Shutterstock.com. University of Miami. Photo: YES Market Media/Shutterstock.com.

A University of Miami student from South Carolina, disgruntled to be back home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has turned to federal court with a putative class action lawsuit that claims she and hundreds of other students aren't getting their money's worth.

Named plaintiff Adelaide Dixon was staying at UM's Coral Gables campus to complete her full-time degree — until the university sent everyone home and suspended all in-person activities  for the rest of spring semester.

Now dissatisfied with her online courses, Dixon alleges she wasn't offered a refund.

And that's unfair, according to her lawsuit, which claims Dixon and hundreds of other students paid higher fees for an "in-person, hands-on curriculum," but what they got was online classes that will diminish the value of the degree "for the rest of plaintiff's life."

The complaint claims students are missing out on face-to-face interactions with professors and peers, access to facilities, participation in student unions and government, sports and other activities, and opportunities to network and develop social independence. Dixon alleges class members chose UM out of "hundreds, if not thousands" of other schools for precisely those benefits.

"Although defendant is still offering some level of academic instruction via online classes, plaintiff and members of the proposed class have been and will be deprived of the benefits of on-campus learning," the complaint said.

UM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit, filed in the District of South Carolina, accuses UM of breach of contract and unjust enrichment. It seeks damages and a refund for the 2020 spring semester's fees and costs, including room and board, parking fees and extracurricular fees.

There's no mention of what the plaintiff is studying, but Dixon's LinkedIn page says she began a marketing degree at UM's business school in 2018, and is set to graduate in 2022.

Eric Poulin and Roy Willey of Anastopoulo Law Firm in Charleston, South Carolina, represent the plaintiff. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More than $5 million is at stake, according to the complaint, which quotes a statement on UM's student housing page that said, "Living on campus opens a world of interaction with other students, faculty and staff members in many social, developmental and academic activities."

Poulin and Willey also represent student Grainger Rickenbaker, named plaintiff in a similar lawsuit against Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Read the complaint:

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