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Lawsuit
Against PBIT Certified As Class Action
On
August 30, 2012, the Honorable Catherine M.
Brunson of the 15th
Judicial
Circuit Court in Palm Beach County, Florida
entered an Order certifying this lawsuit
against Palm Beach Institute of Technology,
Inc. and Victor H. Ortega as a class action.
Judge Brunson certified the case as a class
action “on behalf of all students told by
Palm Beach Institute of Technology, Inc.(‘PBIT’)
prior to enrollment that PBIT was seeking
accreditation and would attain accreditation
prior to the students’ graduation.”
The Court also
appointed Thomas H. Howlett and Dean M.
Googasian of The Googasian Firm, P.C. as
lead class counsel, and Drew Lovell, P.A. as
local counsel.
For additional information on the class
certification, click
here to
complete a contact form or call
1-877-540-8333. |
In
late December 2011, a class action lawsuit was initiated
in Palm Beach County, Florida against the Palm Beach
Institute of Technology, Inc. (“PBIT”), seeking damages
on behalf of a class of similarly situated current and
former students. If you are a current or former student
of PBIT seeking more information about the lawsuit from
the law firm pursuing it, please click
here to
fill out a contact form.
PBIT,
which has campuses in West Palm Beach and Fort Myers, is
a for-profit school offering diplomas in diagnostic
medical sonography and related fields. The lawsuit
alleges that, as early as 2006, members of the class
were told prior to their enrollment by PBIT officials
that PBIT was in the process of seeking accreditation
and that the school would attain accreditation prior to
their graduations. According to the lawsuit, members of
the class relied on these representations in deciding to
enroll at PBIT. But, in fact, PBIT did not even seek
accreditation until 2011, and its application for
accreditation in 2011 was denied, the lawsuit alleges.
Despite assurances that PBIT was in the process of
seeking accreditation and would have accreditation prior
to their graduations, PBIT has never been accredited and
remains unaccredited to this day, resulting in
substantial harm to members of the class, according to
the lawsuit.
Shortly after the filing of the lawsuit, the Fort Myers
branch of PBIT closed for an indefinite period of time.
A note was posted on the door of the Fort Myers campus
stating in part, “PBIT is now closed for business as of
01/09/2012.”
Counsel for the Plaintiff in the lawsuit are Thomas
Howlett and Dean Googasian of The Googasian Firm, P.C.,
based in Michigan. These attorneys have served as
class counsel to thousands of current and former
students of for-profit schools in multiple class
actions. To contact The Googasian Firm about PBIT or
any other concern you may have about a for-profit
school, you may click here, send an e-mail to
pbitlawsuit@googasian.com or call 1-877-540-8333.
Drew Lovell of Law Offices of Drew Lovell, P.A. in Palm
Beach Gardens, Florida is serving as co-counsel with The
Googasian Firm, P.C. as Counsel to the Plaintiff in the
PBIT lawsuit.
For
further information about the PBIT lawsuit, you may
click here, send an e-mail to
pbitlawsuit@googasian.com, or call The Googasian
Firm at 1-877-540-8333.
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