Fraud Case Against Community College - 11 Amend. Immunity?

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hello,

This past Fall(07), I went to a local community college and had to withdraw due my dad had a massive stroke and needed help. When I registered, I put my tuition on a Payment plan (4 Payments) due lack of funds at registration time. When I went to withdraw I expected a 70% refund of the $300 tuition, or for it to be adjusted on my payment plan to only take out 30% of the $300. I had to go to the VP of the College for the Business Admin Division who I had reported to the College Board for unfair treatment before, and he gave me a statement for what I would owe. I looked at it, it said that I owed $325 to the college for the Fall semester alone. I asked him to review it because of the outrageous amount after withdraw during a 70% refund period, he told me "I don't give a F**k, pay it or don't come back here to college". I went to the President of the College, who said that the VP of Business has CPA, and knows what he is doing, so he would not even hear any appeal.

My question is: Can I sue the college Justice Court (Formal small claims) to get my money back, or would I have to sue the VP of in his Official Capacity. Or would 11th Amendment Immunity bar the suit entirely. I was not sure if a Community [Junior] College District was considered "an arm of the state"]

What can I do here? Thanks for any advice.

what was the total amount of your fall tuition, not the amount you paid for one payment, but the total amount if you had stayed? you should get 70% of that, not 70% of the part you paid.

Why did you expect a 70% refund?

The Fall tuition total amount charged at time of Registration was only $300. The VP ordered that the owe be $325 ($25 more) that would come out of my checking account every month.

The college policy is:

If you withdraw in the first week: 70% Refund

Instead, I withdrew on the second day of school, and had to pay $25 more than the original tuition amount charged at registration.

i.e. No Refund, and more tuition than originally agreed in the contract to debit funds out of my checking account

The full $325 came out of my checking account (about 110% of the original amount)

The tuition total is only $300 for 6 hours. It's a community college..

My question is a Community College Protected by 11th Amend. Immunity? Would I need to sue the VP is his Official Capacity, or sue the College by its Official Name?

Correct me if I'm wrong

Please correct me if I am wrong, but, doesn't the 11th refer to Federal lawsuits? From Wikipedia:

The Amendment was passed after the ruling of the United States Supreme Court in Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793), that federal courts had the authority to hear cases in law and equity against states by private citizens, and that states did not enjoy sovereign immunity from suits made by citizens of other states. Thus, the amendment clarified Article III, Section 2 of the original Constitution, which gave diversity jurisdiction to the judiciary to hear cases "between a state and citizens of another state."

Although the Amendment's text does not by its own terms include suits brought by a citizen against his own state, the Supreme Court has held since Hans v. Louisiana 134 U.S. 1 (1890)) that the Amendment reflects a broader principle of sovereign immunity.

Contact the financial department of the college. Ask them how to put in a claim for reimbursement.

Zigner, I think OP has already tried with the Financial Dept.

john_rogers said:

I had to go to the VP of the College for the Business Admin Division who I had reported to the College Board for unfair treatment before, and he gave me a statement for what I would owe. I looked at it, it said that I owed $325 to the college for the Fall semester alone. I asked him to review it because of the outrageous amount after withdraw during a 70% refund period, he told me "I don't give a F**k, pay it or don't come back here to college". I went to the President of the College, who said that the VP of Business has CPA, and knows what he is doing, so he would not even hear any appeal.

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I am not a Lawyer, but I feel that OP might have a case. We are talking about a Public College here, I feel that for a head administrator of a state funded college [i.e. citizen tax dollars] to make statement like "I don't give a F**k, pay it or don't come back here to college" is very unprofessional for anyone, much less a state funded college serving our communities. I would not want my kids going to a college that has Administrators who act like that.

I don't think OP answered VeronicaLodge's question yet.

Being charged $300 at the time of registration is not an answer. What was the total obligation had the semester been completed with the enrolled credit hours?

pro_se ... you think that a public college charging 1/10 of the actual cost for education should be held to a higher standard than the more traditional college which also receives a substantial amount of public funds?????

Rexlan said:

I don't think OP answered VeronicaLodge's question yet.

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I think he did:

john_rogers said:

The tuition total is only $300 for 6 hours. It's a community college..

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Community College are generally not very expensive. $300 for 6 Hours is what they charge in a lot of places.

Rexlan said:

Being charged $300 at the time of registration is not an answer. What was the total obligation had the semester been completed with the enrolled credit hours?

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I think it is. It's a community college not a state university, cost are much less at a local college.

Rexlan said:

pro_se ... you think that a public college charging 1/10 of the actual cost for education should be held to a higher standard

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No, I do not think that any college should be held to a "higher standard", It's the attitude that this college leadership seems to have:

john_rogers said:

I had to go to the VP of the College for the Business Admin Division...he gave me a statement for what I would owe. I looked at it, it said that I owed $325 to the college for the Fall semester alone. I asked him to review it because of the outrageous amount after withdraw during a 70% refund period, he told me "I don't give a F**k, pay it or don't come back here to college".

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I don't think this is putting a "higher standard" on OP's College. It is very unprofessional for anyone, much less places that get public funds to educate a community to make statements like that. Just my thought.

We have not heard the complete story on this.

pro_se said:

Zigner, I think OP has already tried with the Financial Dept.

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I disagree. The OP spoke with the VP of the Business Admin Division. That is NOT the Financial Services department. IE: The Department Head for the department he was taking classes in. My apologies if I'm mistaken, but I took the original post a tad different than you did.