Court Orders Class Certification for Lawsuit Filed by Southern California
On October 24, 2016, U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw, Southern District of California, granted a certified class of plaintiffs’ request for summary judgment under the unfair competition law and for false advertising, finding that that NCTI misrepresented that “graduation from NCTI course will be looked upon favorably in job applications and interviews with American Medical Response” and that “[a]s NCTI is owned and operated by AMR, employment referrals are a benefit to the NCTI graduate.” The case now moves forward toward trial on claims regarding other misrepresentations, claims that NCTI violated California law by failing to timely place students in required internships, and claims for breach of contract .
On May 19, 2016, The United States District Court Southern District of California granted class certification on behalf of paramedic students at American Medical Response, Inc. (AMR) which operates and controls the for-profit National College of Technical Instruction (NCTI) in campuses around California. The Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was granted as to liability with respect to class and subclass for claims asserted under the FAL, UCL, CLRA, and breach of contract.
The lawsuit alleges that the NCTI violated both statutory requirements and its own promises for finding internships and employment for students, and in fact misled students about the length of the program. The “guarantees” were promoted on its website and marketing materials to attract students.
“We are pleased the Court recognized that our allegations of NCTI's egregious conduct towards its students affected everyone in the Class,” said Stueve Siegel Hanson attorney Jason S. Hartley, who represents the plaintiffs. “We now look forward to proving at trial how many thousands of dollars that conduct cost each student in the Class.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Landay Roberts LLC.
