Delisle v. McKendree University

Dist. Ct. erred in dismissing for failure to state viable claim plaintiffs-students’ action, alleging that defendant breached implied-contract to conduct in-person instruction and to allow use of its campus facilities, when defendant shut-down in-person instruction and switched to remote learning for its students following full onset of COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020. While plaintiff could not rely solely on defendant’s marketing statements in its website to demonstrate existence of implied contract to provide its students with in-person instruction and use of its facilities, statements made in defendant’s catalog and student handbook, that differentiated between University’s on-campus and online programs and described services offered at its on-campus facilities were enough for court to make reasonable inference that defendant’s students were promised in-person instruction, even though defendant did not charge difference price for in-person, as opposed to remote programs. Also, plaintiff’s allegation that prior to pandemic, it was typical for defendant to provide in-person instruction and on-campus services supported finding of existence of implied contract to provide in-person instruction.