“Eleventh Circuit Holds University Cannot Arbitrate Student’s Breach of Contract and Misrepresentation Claims”

Christina Gallo of Carlton Fields has authored this article in JD Supra, discussing the court’s determination in Young v. Grand Canyon University, Inc. that the District Court “was wrong to compel arbitration of a student’s breach of contract and misrepresentation claims against a university, as federal regulation 34 C.F.R. § 685.300(e)-(f) prohibits a college or university that accepts federal student loan money from enforcing pre-dispute arbitration agreements when a student brings a ‘borrower defense claim.'” As Ms. Gallo noted, the Eleventh Circuit held that  “the regulation’s definition of ‘borrower defense claim’ includes breach of contract and substantial misrepresentation claims and therefore shields those claims from arbitration. “