The complaint specifies that the students were all enrolled at Life since January 1, 2001, six months before the Council on Chiropractic Education's (CCE) Commission on Accreditation placed the university on probation for failing to comply with the CCE Standards. The university was given 12 months and written instructions of the steps necessary to regain provisional accreditation status, but failed to comply. On June 10, 2002, CCE revoked Life's accreditation pending appeal. During the appeal, Life retained its accreditation, but on October 20, 2002, the appeal was rejected and the school's accreditation was rescinded.
The complaint alleges the defendants were negligent in "failing to maintain and/or restore the academic accreditation of the Life University chiropractic program," and that the students enrolled during this period "have been damaged," as they are unable to graduate with an accredited chiropractic degree. The suit further alleges that the students spent an "untold amount of personal savings, personal wages, and/or student loans, which have been paid to the defendants in exchange for an accredited education."
The suit seeks an "awarded judgment and damages against the defendants in an amount to be determined by the enlightened conscious of a jury of 12 individuals" and "reasonable attorney fees and expenses of litigation."
"I filed the lawsuit with 75 plaintiff names on it, I could have filed it with more, but as they were signing up by the hour, I would have never filed it if I kept waiting," explained Dr. Hoffman. "I made an arbitrary decision to file it with 75 and add on people afterward. I couldn't tell you where the number is going to grow to, but it's growing as we speak. I have students in at least three other states that I anticipate will be sending me contracts back to jump on board."
The attorney for the plaintiffs seeks to have the complaint classified as a class-action suit. Dr. Hoffman told DC that certifying the suit as a class-action might not happen for several months, and that he would have to go before a judge to present the case to get it certified as such. The criteria for a "class-action" designation is a large number of plaintiffs (there is no set number) and a commonality of purpose.
Class-action certification is important for two reasons: 1) Many other Life students are contemplating legal recourse against the university; 2) Certification would mean the judge feels the case is viable.
The sheer number of plaintiffs involved in class-action suits often translates into large settlements. In theory, if the Hoffman case were certified as a class-action suit, every student enrolled in Life's chiropractic program at the time CCE accreditation was revoked - approximately 2,200 people - would be eligible to join the list of plaintiffs and receive damages.
"When a defendant sees that there is a potential to get clobbered, they're going to be willing to negotiate more often than not," asserted Dr. Hoffman. "The best thing a defendant can hope is that it doesn't get certified, so that they're not looking at a major-league liability. It's my full intention that we'll get them to the point where they might want to discuss a settlement."
"There have been a lot of people seriously harmed," added Dr. Hoffman. He cited the hardship of students who have had to transfer to another chiropractic college and take an extra year or year-and-a-half of classes because of a lack of transfer credits. As an example, he noted the plight of a married couple in which one spouse left the state to continue a chiropractic education, while the other spouse was forced to stay because the couple could not forego the income.
Dr. Hoffman's suit is not the first to be brought against Life since its accreditation was revoked. Attorney Cary King had previously filed two civil suits in Cobb County Superior Court: one on behalf of five plaintiffs (Peter Scire, et al., v Life University and Sid Williams); the other on behalf of eight students (see www.chiroweb.com/archives/20/24/09.html).
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