Case Updates
November 8, 2023
Plaintiffs and Mills College Agree to $1.25 Million Settlement with Former Students
Oakland, California, November 7, 2023- Plaintiffs’ law firms Bryan
Schwartz Law, P.C. and Nichols Kaster, LLP announced today that the Alameda
County Superior Court has
granted preliminary approval to Plaintiffs’ agreement with Defendants Mills College and Northeastern
University, in which Defendants will pay $1.25 million to settle an alleged
class action consumer protection lawsuit that covers approximately 408
students. Plaintiffs claim Mills College made misrepresentations to them
regarding the College’s merger with Northeastern University after
170 years as an independent women’s college in Oakland. While Mills
College and Northeastern do not believe that Plaintiffs’ claims
have merit, and deny all allegations made, the institutions have concluded
that settlement is in the best interest of the Parties to avoid the time
and expenses of drawn-out litigation.
Plaintiffs claimed they faced great hardships arising from the unfortunate
closure of Mills College as a separate institution, but Mills and Northeastern
maintain they worked with each and every affected student to achieve the
best possible result for them despite the difficult situation. With this
settlement, Plaintiffs hope to offset some of the increased educational
costs they claim they incurred, and Defendants hope to move forward peaceably
with providing quality education to students at Mills at Northeastern
University without the continuing distractions of the claims and allegations
in the lawsuit.
The Agreement between the parties was reached after more than ten months
of negotiations, and it settles the lawsuit,
Cordrey et al. v. Mills College et al., Case No. 22-CV-011159, filed on May 11, 2022, in the Alameda County Superior
Court in Oakland, California.
The settlement received approval from Hon. Brad Seligman, who found the
“proposed settlement to be ‘within the realistic range of
outcomes of the litigation.’” After notice is sent to the
408 members of the class, a final fairness hearing will be conducted on
March 12, 2024.
Plaintiffs: Named Plaintiffs Willa Cordrey, Jenny Varner, Clara MacKenzie, Joya Saxena,
and Savannah McCoy were all students enrolled with Mills College pursuing
either an undergraduate degree or a graduate degree, but claim they were
unable to complete their degrees prior to Mills’ closure.
Next Steps: If the settlement thereafter receives final approval, a third-party administrator
will distribute settlement amounts based on an objective formula to each
qualifying class member. More information will be available here: www.MCSettlement.com
Statement on the Settlement:
Plaintiffs’ counsel Bryan Schwartz, the founder of Bryan Schwartz
Law, P.C. stated, “We are glad that we are able to get some relief
for students who came to us for help after so much unexpected turmoil,
to help them move on with the next chapters of their promising educational
trajectories and careers.”
Plaintiffs’ counsel Matthew Helland of Nichols Kaster, LLP, added:
“This case gave voice to students who believe they were wronged.
We hope this settlement allows students to leave these issues in the past
and focus on their futures.”
Plaintiff Jenny Varner added: “I am proud of the work that all the
plaintiffs and our amazing legal team put in on behalf of the Mills student
body.”
Information about Plaintiffs’ Counsel:
Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C.: Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C. is an Oakland-based firm which obtains social
justice in class, collective, and individual actions, often challenging
discrimination, wage/hour violations, and whistleblower retaliation. The
firm practices in state and federal trial and appeals courts, in arbitration,
and before a variety of administrative agencies. The firm’s principal
is past Chair of the 7,500+ State Bar Labor and Employment Law Section
(now affiliated with the California Lawyers Association), and on the Boards
of Directors of Legal Aid at Work, and the Foundation for Advocacy, Inclusion
and Resources (FAIR).
Contact Information
Email: bryan@bryanschwartzlaw.com
Phone: 510-444-9300
Website: https://www.bryanschwartzlaw.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanschwartzlaw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bryanschwartzlaw
Nichols Kaster, LLP: For more than forty-five years, Nichols Kaster has enjoyed a sterling
reputation as a top employment and consumer plaintiffs’ litigation
firm. With over 35 lawyers in its Minneapolis and San Francisco offices,
the firm has represented hundreds of thousands of employees and consumers
nationwide on a variety of legal issues arising under both state and federal
laws. The National Trial Lawyers and ALM have named Nichols Kaster the
Employment Rights Law Firm of The Year, and U.S. News and World Reports
has named Nichols Kaster a Best Law Firm and its lawyers as Best Lawyers,
consecutively since 2012. Together the National Law Journal and law.com
named Nichols Kaster a top 50 firm for Elite Trial Lawyers “that
are doing the most creative and substantial work on the plaintiffs side.”
Contact Information
Email: helland@nka.com
Phone: 415-277-7235
Website: www.nka.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/nicholskaster
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicholsKaster
June 7, 2022
Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Mills College Students Featured in Huntington
News at Northeastern
You can read the
article in full by clicking the link.
May 12, 2022
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Mills College, on Behalf of Students:
Mills Misled Students About Merger
According to a
class action lawsuit filed Wednesday in Alameda County, Mills College engaged in rampant deception
throughout their merger with Northeastern University. Students were repeatedly
promised that Mills would stay open through the spring of 2023 and that
their majors would be protected – promises that Mills College repeatedly
failed to meet. Instead, students were left constantly scrambling, unsure
of any aspect of their academic future.
The suit, filed jointly by two prominent civil rights law firms, Bryan
Schwartz Law and Nichols Kaster, PLLP, maintains that Mills College made
empty promises in entice students to continue paying to attend Mills College.
Mills’ students, many of whom went to Mills College specifically
because of its legacy as a social-justice oriented historically women’s
college, have now been told they should simply continue their studies
at Northeastern University, a large, co-ed, East Coast college –
which lacks many of the academic programs that were Mills’ specialties.
For example, the suit describes that Education majors are being told to
join the Communications program at Northeastern University.
“Mills College is beloved by so many people in the Bay Area and beyond
– it is deeply disappointing how they have treated their students
over the last year-plus,” said Bryan Schwartz, proprietor of Oakland’s
Bryan Schwartz Law. “We have nothing but respect for the courageous
students who have stood up against these wrongs.”
“Because of Defendant’s false promises, misinformation, and
misrepresentations, students like Plaintiff Cordrey and Plaintiff Varner
have been put in a terrible position: either change their major or transfer
to other schools that offer their desired degrees, resulting in delayed
graduation dates and additional expenses,” said Matthew Helland,
of Nichols Kaster, a national class action firm with offices in San Francisco.
“Mills’ students are demanding to be treated fairly and for
Defendant to deliver on its promises. We are suing to help get these bright
students’ educational plans back on track.”
The lawsuit was filed in Alameda County Superior Court.
About the Plaintiff Willa Cordrey:
Plaintiff Willa Cordrey began attending Mills College in August 2019. Ms.
Cordrey was enrolled in Mills’ “4+1” program, which
would have allowed her to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Education,
Master’s degree in Education, and a California teaching credential,
all within five years. Mills College repeatedly misled Ms. Cordrey about
her ability to graduate and get her teaching credential through Mills
College, before finally stating that the best they could do is allow her
to receive her Bachelor’s in Communications or a similarly unrelated
major through Northeastern University, with no path to receive her teaching
credential. “I loved Mills, and I loved my program,” said
Ms. Cordrey. “I wanted to learn how to teach at Mills, because I
felt that my classes and professors were preparing me to be the kind of
teacher I wanted to be. I did everything I could to complete my education
at Mills. The administration had an obligation to their current students,
and they have failed us.” Ms. Cordrey is in the process of finding
a college to transfer to for the upcoming academic year.
About the Plaintiff Jenny Varner:
Plaintiff Jenny Varner began attending Mills College in August 2018. Ms.
Varner, the daughter of a Mills alum, was ecstatic to study Art History
at Mills College, with a plan to become a museum curator someday. When
Mills College began going back on its word, Ms. Varner was forced to withdraw
from the college she loved. Ms. Varner says, “It hasn’t been
easy to stand up to a school that I have dreamed about attending for so
long, but I know that all of the Mills community deserves better than
this.” Ms. Varner is transferring to Lewis & Clark College beginning
this summer.
About Bryan Schwartz Law
Bryan Schwartz Law (www.bryanschwartzlaw.com) is dedicated to continuing the struggle for
civil rights and equality of employment opportunity and helping Americans
from every background to achieve their highest career potential. The firm
has recovered tens of millions of dollars in individual, class, and collective
actions involving discrimination and retaliation, harassment, denied disability
accommodations, whistleblower reprisal, wage and hour violations, Federal
employees' rights, and severance negotiations.
About Nichols Kaster, PLLP
For more than forty-five years, Nichols Kaster (www.nka.com) has enjoyed a sterling reputation as a top employment and consumer plaintiffs’
litigation firm. With over 35 lawyers in its Minneapolis and San Francisco
offices, the firm has represented hundreds of thousands of employees and
consumers nationwide on a variety of legal issues arising under both state
and federal laws. The National Trial Lawyers and ALM have named Nichols
Kaster the Employment Rights Law Firm of The Year, and U.S. News and World
Reports has named Nichols Kaster a Best Law Firm and its lawyers as Best
Lawyers, consecutively since 2012. Together the National Law Journal and
law.com named Nichols Kaster a top 50 firm for Elite Trial Lawyers “that
are doing the most creative and substantial work on the plaintiffs side.”