SUNY ClassNotice

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To receive any money you must send in a Claim Form

by: September 4, 2013

Please Read Below For More Information. Other

exclusions and details apply.

WHAT iS THE PURPoSE oF THiS NoTiCE?

The purpose of this notice is to inform you that a New

York State court has granted class action status in this

case, Strum v. SUNY, and that you have been identified

as a possible Settlement Class member. This notice will

also describe who is included in the Settlement Class,

what to do if you are a member of the Settlement Class

and what to do if you want to object to or be excludedfrom the settlement.

WHo BRoUGHT THiS lAWSUiT?

Sara Strum and Lauren Beer, two former students at

Binghamton University are bringing this lawsuit as a class

action, on behalf of themselves and all other people in a

similar situation.

WHo iS THE lAWSUiT AGAiNST?

The lawsuit is against the State University of New York

(SUNY) and certain officials from SUNY.

WHAT iS THE lAWSUiT ABoUT?

The two students bringing this lawsuit were residents of

New Jersey and paid the nn-resdent tuition rate when

they attended Binghamton University. But the students

argue that SUNY should have charged them the resdent

tuition rate (also called the in-state rate) because they

met certain requirements under the law for students who

graduated from New York high schools as they did.

The details of these requirements are found in New York

Education Law, section 355(2)(h)(8).

Based in law and SUNY policies, SUNY has raised

defenses to the former students claims, but has agreed

to make tuition refunds according to the settlement.

AM i A MEMBER oF THE SETTlEMENT

ClASS?

Read ths sectn carefuy. It will tell you whether

you are member of the Settlement Class and perhaps

eligible to receive a refund. You must satisfy requirements

numbered 1, 2, 3 and either 4A or 4B. Certain other

exclusions apply. You need not have graduated from

SUNY.

1. Yu attended ne f the egbe SUNY schs

fr any perd f tme durng:

Fa 2007 term

Any tme n 2008

Any tme n 2009

Any tme n 2010

Sprng 2011 term

AND

2. Yu r yur parents pad the nn-resdent tutn

rate. (As caed the ut-f-state rate).

AND

3. Yu were nt a resdent f New Yrk State at

that tme.

AND EITHER

4A. Yu attended a New Yrk hgh sch fr tw

r mre years and apped fr attendance at

SUNY wthn fve years f graduatng frm a

New Yrk hgh sch.

OR

4B. Yu attended a New Yrk state GED prgram

and apped fr attendance at SUNY wthn fve

years f recevng yur GED.

SUNY TUiTioN REFUND ClASS ACTioN SETTlEMENT

Pease Read ths Ntce Carefuy.

Ths Ntce Cntans imprtant infrmatn abut yur Rghts.

Ths s a Ntce f a Pendng Cass Actn and Prpsed Settement Regardng Tutn Refunds fr

Sme Pepe Wh Pad Nn-Resdent Tutn at SUNY Schs (The State Unversty f New Yrk).

A New York State Court authorized this notice. This isnota solicitation from a lawyer.

Yu May be Egbe fr a Tutn Refund frm

SUNY f yu 1) Graduated frm a New Yrk State

Hgh Sch r Receved a GED n New Yrk

State,and2) Attended a SUNY Sch at any tme

frm the Fa 2007 t the Sprng 2011 terms,and

3) Pad the Nn-Resdent Tutn Rate (as caed

the ut-f-state rate)


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YoU ARE NoT EliGiBlE FoR A REFUND:

If you were a non-immigrant alien under federal law.

If your high school or GED program is not recognized

by the NYS Department of Education.

If you do not send in a Cam Frm by

September 4, 2013.

If you exclude yourself from this settlement.

For tuition refunds at the SUNY Community Colleges.

For tuition refunds at Cornell University and

Alfred University.

HoW MUCH MoNEY Will i GET?

A few things have to happen first. First, this settlement

will have to be approved by a judge. Second, you must

meet all of the requirements. Third, you must fill out andreturn a Claim Form by September 4, 2013.

Finally, after receiving your Claim Form, SUNY will

check its records and any information you provide to see

if you overpaid. If you are entitled to a refund, SUNY

will direct that the NYS Office of the Comptroller mail a

check to you. The exact amount of your refund will de-

pend on several factors and you may not be entitled to a

refund. You will nt receive a refund for scholarship or

grant money that you did not have to pay back.

Refund payments may include interest. Note that interest

payments are considered taxable income under the Inter-nal Revenue Code and/or your state Tax Law. Interest

paid to class members in any calendar year will be re-

ported to the Internal Revenue Service on Form 1099 as

required by law. Payments to be made pursuant to the

Settlement Agreement will be issued by the NYS Office

of the Comptroller and are subject to audit by that Office.

WHiCH SUNY SCHoolS ARE EliGiBlE?

Binghamton University

College of Environmental Science and Forestry

College of Optometry

Downstate Medical Center

Stony Brook University

University at AlbanyUniversity at Buffalo

Upstate Medical University

Buffalo State College

Empire State College

Purchase College

State University of New York at Geneseo

State University of New York at New Paltz

State University of New York at Oswego

State University of New York at Potsdam

SUNY College at Oneonta

SUNY Cortland

SUNY Fredonia

SUNY Plattsburgh

The College at Brockport

The College at Old Westbury

Alfred State College

Farmingdale State College

Maritime College

Morrisville State College

SUNY Canton

SUNY Cobleskill

SUNY Delhi

SUNY Institute of Technology

* The SUNY Community Colleges, Cornell University

and Alfred University are NoT part of this settlement.


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WHo ARE THE lAWYERS FoR THE ClASS?

The judge has approved Andrew L. Lee, Esq. and Peter

Mustalish, Esq. of the law firm ALL COUNSEL P.C., to

be the lawyers for the class. They are located at 680 Fifth

Avenue, 5th Floor, New York NY 10019. They are also

called Class Counsel.

Do i HAVE To PAY ANY lAWYERS?

Settlement Class members will not pay any money

drecty to Class Counsel. A portion of any refund you

receive will go directly to Class Counsel as compensation

for their services. Class Counsel will ask the judge to be

compensated based on the total benefit achieved by the

Settlement. The judge will decide what amount is fair.

HoW Do i BECoME A MEMBER oF THE

SETTlEMENT ClASS?

You are automatically a member of the Settlement Class if

you meet the criteria unless you specifically request to be

excluded in the manner described below. However, in

order to receive a refund yu must f ut the Cam

Frm bew and return it by September 4, 2013. Your

claim is subject to verification by SUNY.

WHAT DoES iT MEAN To BE A MEMBER

oF THE SETTlEMENT ClASS?

You will be represented by the Representative Students

and Class Counsel.

You will receive notice of any ruling or judgment

affecting your status in this lawsuit. You will be bound

by any judgment, settlement or other final disposition of

the class lawsuit. You cannt bring your own lawsuit.

For purposes of this case you will be deemed to have

consented to SUNY disclosing certain personally

identifiable information about you from their records

to Class Counsel, the judge, the NYS Office of the

Comptroller, the NYS Office of the Attorney General,

SUNY and SUNY staff participating in the claims

process.

WHAT iF i WANT To oBJECT To THE

SETTlEMENT?

As a Settlement Class member, you may appear, with or

without your own counsel, at the Fairness Hearing held

on July 18, 2013 in Binghamton, New York, to be heard

in opposition to the terms of the settlement, provided

that you send a written Notice of Objection entitled:

Objection to the Settlement in Strum, et al. v. SUNY,et al. (Index No. 2011/00064), postmarked by June 28,

2013 to the following: (i) Andrew L. Lee, Esq., ALL

COUNSEL P.C., 680 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor, New York

NY 10019 (Class Counsel); and (ii) NYS Office of the

Attorney General, Laura Barnhill, 44 Hawley Street,

17th Floor, Binghamton, New York 13901 (Respondents

Counsel).

Your written objection must include: (a) your name,

address and social security number; (b) a notice of

intention to appear and whether you will appear with or

without an attorney retained by and paid for by you;

(c) a detailed statement of each objection asserted; (d) the

grounds on which you desire to appear and be heard; and

(e) any documents and writings which you desire the

Court to consider and a list of witnesses you may call by

live testimony. If you object but the court nonetheless

approves the settlement, you will be barred from bringing

your own lawsuit asserting individual claims related to the

matters referred to in the class action lawsuit, and you will

be bound by the judgment and releases in the settlement

and all orders entered by the court. Settlement Class

members who do not make known their objections in this

manner will be deemed to have waived all objections and

shall not be heard or have the right to appeal the approval

of the settlement.

WHAT iF i WiSH To BE EXClUDED FRoM

THE SETTlEMENT ClASS?

If you wish to be excluded from the Settlement Class, you

must send a written notice to: (i) Andrew L. Lee, Esq.,

ALL COUNSEL P.C., 680 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor, New

York NY 10019 (Class Counsel); and (ii) NYS Office of

the Attorney General, Laura Barnhill, 44 Hawley Street,

17th Floor, Binghamton, New York 13901 (RespondentsCounsel) by June 28, 2013. You must include your full

name, social security number, address, telephone number,

e-mail address and a statement that you wish to exclude

yourself from the Strum v. SUNYlawsuit.


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If you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, (i)

you will not be bound by any settlement, judgment or

disposition of this case; (ii) you will retain any claims

you may have against respondents (i.e SUNY); (iii) you

will not share in the benefits of any settlement, judgment

or disposition of this case; and (iv) you will not be able

to object to this settlement and be heard at the fairness

hearing.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

There will be a hearing on July 18, 2013 in Binghamton,

New York in front of the Honorable Ferris D. Lebous in

New York State Supreme Court, to determine: (i) whether

this settlement should be approved as fair and reasonable;

(ii) whether to approve the attorneys fees and expenses to

Class Counsel. You are not required to attend unless you

are filing an objection, but you may do so if you wish.

iF i AM MEMBER oF THE SETTlEMENTClASS, CAN i STill BRiNG MY oWN

lAWSUiT?

NO. Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement

Class you will be barred forever from bringing a lawsuit

asserting claims related to the matters referred to in this

lawsuit.

HoW Do i GET MoRE iNFoRMATioN?

D Nt Ca r Wrte the Curt r the Judge r SUNY

r any f ts campuses.

This notice is a general description of the case and does

not cover all the issues in detail. You may review the

pleadings, the full settlement agreement and all other

court documents at the office of the Clerk of the Court

of Broome County, Supreme Court who will make the

file available to you for inspection and copying at your

expense during regular office hours. Some of these

documents may be available online at

http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/iscroll/index.jsp

If you have any questions concerning the matters in

this notice, or if you have corrections or changes to

your name or address, please contact Class Counsel

at [email protected].

April 12, 2013

www.suny.edu/tuitionsettlement

Documents

SUNY ClassNotice