Updates on Westwood Class Actions in Arbitration and in Texas

I hope this finds everyone well and that you all had a very happy holiday season.  We are continuing to work hard on your behalf and look forward to what this new year will bring for all of you.  This post is to provide an update on the status of the lawsuits, and to give a little background to the many students who have contacted us recently and may be new to this site.  As many of you know, there are two active class action suits against Westwood College.  One was filed in May, 2009, on behalf of all Westwood College, Westwood College Online and Redstone College students who attended the school after May, 2005.  The second suit was filed in November, 2009, on behalf of the students who attended Westwood College Online while living in Texas.

You can read more about the class action arbitration and whether you would be included if the class is certified here.  The case is in a phase right now called “clause construction.”  This step is where our arbitrator will determine whether the agreement that Westwood required each student to sign allows the suit to proceed as a class action.  Right now, there is a case – Stolt-Nielsen v. International AnimalFeeds – being heard before the Supreme Court that our arbitrator wants to hear a decision on before making his determination in our case.  While waiting, our arbitrator has stayed proceedings until the Supreme Court decision or until the end of this Supreme Court term, which is in June.  That means that he will not make a decision on the clause construction issue until then.  However, to keep the case moving forward and to help us continue advocating for the students, the arbitrator has allowed us to seek individual discovery for the four students who are named in the arbitration.  As soon as the stay is lifted, and if we are able to proceed as a class, then we’ll be able to seek the rest of the information relating to the school’s treatment of the rest of the class.  We’re confident that this is an agreeable way for us to be the best advocates for all of you.

The second case is the class action that was filed in Texas regarding the unlicensed operation of Westwood College Online in the state of Texas.  In response to an investigation conducted by the Texas Workforce Commission, Westwood College Online ceased operations in Texas on December 8, 2009.  You can see the correspondence related to the TWC investigation here.  Westwood has filed a Motion to Dismiss our class action lawsuit based on their position that the Texas licensing laws do not apply to them.  We filed a timely response and Westwood’s reply is due this week.  We will post the judge’s determination on this motion when it becomes available.  All of the documents for this case are available on the Documents page.  In the mean time, if you attended Westwood College Online and want to know more about your options, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Additionally, we have now heard from more than 500 students who have come forward to tell their stories.  We’re working on getting those loaded onto the website so you can see what the other students are saying.  The stories are startlingly similar in the tactics used, promises made and the financial and emotional devastation.  We hope that seeing other students stories will remind you that you are not alone in this fight.  Please check back within a week or so for updates on those stories.

We wish you all a happy and safe 2010.  Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments or concerns.  We look forward to speaking with each of you.

Warm regards,

Jillian Estes