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Lawyers for a proposed class of hundreds of thousands of current
and former U.S. students disclosed the latest settlements in a
filing late Friday in Chicago federal court.
The 2022 lawsuit said 17 prominent colleges and universities
violated U.S. antitrust law by violating a pledge not to
consider students' finances in making admissions decisions,
giving wealthy students an edge.
Dartmouth and Rice said they would each pay $33.75 million.
Northwestern agreed to pay $43.5 million, and Vanderbilt will
pay $55 million.
Brown, Yale and Columbia universities earlier agreed to pay a
combined $62 million to resolve claims against them.
The schools, including those that have reached settlements, have
denied wrongdoing.
Northwestern, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt and Rice in statements said
settling with the plaintiffs allowed them to move past the case
and focus on their academic missions.
The case will continue against seven schools, including Cornell
University, University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown
University.
Ted Normand, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement said,
“These new settlements will significantly increase the
compensation to the class members for the harm we allege the
defendants’ cartel caused.”
Average payouts to members of the class are expected to be $750,
according to a court filing.
The settlements are subject to a judge's consideration and
approval.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario and Cynthia
Osterman)
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