Lawsuit by Students of Everest College Alleges Omissions and Misrepresentations Concerning Accreditation, Transferability of Credits, and Placement Rates

LOS ANGELES, March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A class action lawsuit filed yesterday in Los Angeles, California alleges that Everest College systematically lures potential students into its programs by withholding crucial information, or by making outright misrepresentations, about the school's accreditation, transferability of credits, and placement rates.  Everest is one of the brands used by Corinthian Colleges, Inc., a publicly-traded, for-profit education company.  Corinthian is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.  Corinthian operates approximately 100 Everest campuses around the country, and also operates Everest University Online.

The lawsuit alleges two primary forms of wrongdoing by Everest.  First, it alleges that Everest fails to disclose to potential students that credits or degrees earned at Everest typically cannot be transferred to other post-secondary universities and community colleges.  Everest informs potential students that it is "accredited," but fails to disclose that the type of "accreditation" Everest has is not generally recognized by other post-secondary institutions.  The result is that students who hope to use the Everest programs as a "stepping stone" to a degree from a non-profit or public university discover, after incurring tens-of-thousands of dollars in debt, that they are unable to do so.

Second, the lawsuit alleges that Everest makes misrepresentations and omissions about its success in placing its students in jobs after graduation.  The lawsuit contends that Everest has a policy and practice of misrepresenting statistics regarding the rate of placement and the employability of Everest graduates, and that potential students are thereby misled into overestimating their chances of obtaining gainful employment with an Everest degree.

The lawsuit was brought by two former Everest students who attended the West Lost Angeles, California campus.

"We believe that, as alleged in the complaint, Corinthian Colleges engages in various deceptive practices in connection with recruiting students to its Everest College campuses," says Jason Hartley, one of the attorneys representing the students.  "We hope to put an end to those practices, and to obtain some measure of damages or restitution for former Everest students."

The lawsuit is captioned Jalanic-Reed, et al. v. Corinthian Colleges, Inc., et al., and was filed on March 7, 2011 in the Superior Court of the State of California, Lost Angeles County.  Plaintiffs are represented by the law firms of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP, Tycko & Zavareei LLP, and Fillmore Spencer LLC.  A copy of the complaint can be downloaded from the Tycko & Zavareei LLP website, www.tzlegal.com, or can be requested by contacting any of the firms.

SOURCE Tycko & Zavareei LLP

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