For those following the consumer case on behalf of students and graduates against Western Culinary Institute and Career Education Corp., a copy of the amended is available for download.  Link should be below. (I’m crossing my fingers that I’ve done this correctly!)

David Sugerman

Gozzi et al v. Western Cul Inst Ltd, Amended-complaint

My co-counsel on the Western Culinary Institute case, Brian Campf, pointed this one out to me. Reading the San Francisco Weekly’s story on San Francisco’s California Culinary Academy leaves me with the odd feeling that I’ve heard this one before. If you’re following the Western Culinary Institute case, you owe it yourself to read this story.  Seems very similar to the WCI story.  I suppose that could be coincidence. Of course, both schools are owned by Career Education Corp. So maybe it’s no coincidence at all.

David Sugerman

It’s been a major torrent of calls and emails on the Western Culinary Institute case. Just a quick note if you’ve tried to reach us, and I haven’t gotten back to yet. If you attended the school, I probably don’t need to tell you that we’re getting a lot of calls. If you’re waiting for a call or email back, we’ll get to you as soon as we can finish digging out.

Meantime, if you would like to talk to one of the team members on this case, please flag us with the contact button up there in the nav bar. We’ll get with you soon. The good news is that if you think you got a horrible raw deal from Western and CEC, you’re hardly alone.

Also, we’re really interested in talking to former WCI employees about your experience at the school. Feel free to call or email, and we’ll get back with you as well.

Thanks for your patience.

David Sugerman

Friday’s Oregonian includes a letter to the editor from a dissatisfied citizen, one Robin DesCamp, about the class action lawsuit we filed against Western Culinary Institute and its parent corporation Career Education Corp. Oregonian, B-7 (Mar. 7, 2008; sorry, but it doesn’t appear to be on-line).

Ms. DesCamp apparently has issues. According to her, the quote attributed to me in The Oregonian’s Thursday story provides no “valid basis for a cause of action against an educational institution.” Her prose–with all of its legal terminology–suggests that Ms. DesCamp went to law school. A quick search confirms that she is an Oregon attorney.

Ms. DesCamp mistakenly believes that “two women are suing the trade school for not providing them with lucrative careers upon graduation.” Well that’s some nice rhetoric, but it’s completely incorrect. Two women are suing because they claim were defrauded by two corporations in the trade-school-for-profit business. They seek repayment of tuition and debt relief, and they are not alone.

The complaint is available for Ms. DesCamp’s review. It might actually enlighten her to read it. It’s in this post: http://www.pspc.com/2008/03/western-culinary-institutecec-class-action-complaint

Unless she’s talked to WCI students and witnesses or attended the school, Ms. DesCamp won’t know the facts of how the students have been defrauded. It’s not proper to discuss them here, but let’s just say that the truth usually outs.

There is a certain bitterness and meanness in her letter. For example, she tries to compare the student debt load from trade school with that of a four-year university program. Weird stuff, when you think about it. You go to trade school to learn, well, a trade. That’s to say, you are there precisely for that reason. That’s a little different than what happens when you go to a four-year university to major in English literature. (Note for the humor challenged: I really don’t have anything against English majors….) To ridicule this case by suggesting I should handle bigger ones is wrong.

Ms. DesCamp should know better. As an Oregon lawyer, she surely knows that you can’t accurately evaluate a case based upon a quote in the news reports. Her assessments of what I think, what the plaintiffs knew, what claims they are making, and what relief they seek are all wrong. That’s fine. But if she is going to offer comment, it seems only fair and right and good that she at least learn the facts.

David F. Sugerman

In an interesting blog on concurringopinion.com, Daniel Solove explores the emerging problem of Facebook censorship. http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2008/03/facebook_banish.html

I am taken by both the post and the responses. Mr. Solove relates the experience of David Lat, who was temporarily banished from Facebook.

In investigating a potential consumer class action against Career Education Corp. (CEC) and its subsidiary WCI, Ltd., I found an active Facebook group called IADT Truth Advocates. The group was run by one Charles Hobbs, a gentleman from Tampa who was concerned about widespread complaints by students at various CEC schools throughout North America.

In this brave new Web 2.0 world, I used the IADT page to try to find out more about Western Culinary Institute, a Portland, Or. CEC culinary school that has been the subject of some concern. As with any information source, it was helpful in locating witnesses as we investigated a case on behalf of Western Culinary students.

In the course of those postings in late Feb ‘08, I reviewed postings from Mr. Hobbs indicating that Facebook and CEC were trying to shut down the site and asking for assistance. While I was drawing inferences, it sounded like CEC was threating litigation. There were the usual impassioned responses about the First Amendment. (No go for obvious reasons, as comments on the Solove blog correctly note.)

I recently went back to post an update on the IADT Truth Advocates wall, only to learn that Mr. Hobbs has been removed, and many posts have been deleted. There was a link to a chilling post at the top of the wall from a woman connected with CEC about why Mr. Hobbs was removed and how CEC was trying to answer complaints. It looked as if my prior posts had been purged.

I understand that Facebook and other Web 2.0 sites are not subject to 1st amendment limitations on their own operations because they are private sites. Even so, one has to mourn the fact that such a powerful forum with so much potential is run with a heavy hand. But the bigger problem is whether a private third party should be able to get its way.

I don’t know the facts, but it’s easy to draw inferences–perhaps incorrectly– that CEC pressured Facebook, and Facebook pulled the plug. Assuming that CEC pressured Facebook to purge Hobbs and postings CEC disliked, it would seem that the Facebook terms and conditions might need to be expanded to include that, “Money talks,” and we will flush you if someone of greater import or economic power demands it, regardless of the truth of your speech and your compliance with all our other terms and conditions.

Chilling.

David F. Sugerman

We’ve been getting a lot of calls about the class action case filed against WCI and CEC yesterday. So here’s a scanned copy of the complaint filed yesterday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. As well, there are other blog entries on the case earlier on.

David F. Sugerman

gozzi-v-wci-ltd-and-cec-complaint.pdf

In today’s Oregonian, a news report on Gozzi v. Western Culinary Institute, the proposed class action filed yesterday. (Hunsberger, B, “Culinary school faces lawsuit,” The Oregonian Mar. 6, 2008, D-1). Link: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/03/2_portlanders_file_classaction.html

As noted in yesterday’s blog entry, I am counsel. For that reason, it’s really not appropriate for me to write about the case. Even so, we remain interested in talking to WCI students and former employees about their experiences there. There’s a nav button up above that provides contact info to me.

David F. Sugerman

Filed today in Oregon’s Multnomah County Circuit Court: Gozzi et al v. Western Culinary Institute Ltd.

In this consumer class action, two former Western Culinary Institute students seek refunds of tuition and interest payments on behalf of themselves and other WCI students. The case names as defendants Western Culinary Institute, Ltd., the corporation that owns and operates the school, and Career Education Corp., its parent corporation that provided support and oversight to WCI Ltd. in its operation of the school.

I am joined by my friend and colleague, Brian Campf, on this case. We won’t be providing details about the case here. But if you attended WCI, we’re interested in talking to you about your experience. Feel free to contact me via the the contact link in the nav bar up top.

David F. Sugerman

Wow, here’s something cool about how the internet is providing consumers with new tools to fight corporate abuses.

I stumbled on a Facebook group devoted to consumers’ concerns over CEC, the owner of many private trade schools, including Portland’s Western Culinary Institute. The man behind the group is Charles Hobbs. I’m in awe of his energy and organizing ability. While I don’t know his story directly, I’m guessing that he got burned by one of the CEC programs and decided to take action.

Here’s his IADT Truth Advocates facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5604847490

And if that’s not enough, the page reports that CBS is coming out with a news piece on CEC and some of the claims made by consumers.

It’s refreshing to see Mr. Hobbs and others using the internet in a constructive way to provide information to consumers. The networking process provides a great tool in fighting those businesses that seem committed to doing things the wrong way. Nothing like good old fashioned information to help consumers make smart choices.

Update: Facebook purged this site, as reported in a later entry. It appears that Mr. Hobbs has been banned from Facebook, in what sounds like a chilling case of corporate-driven web censorship. See the later entry on this important topic: www.pspc.com/2008/03/did-facebook-bow-to-pressure-from-career-education-corp

David F. Sugerman

I have been retained to investigate possible consumer fraud and breach of contract claims against Western Culinary Institute. Along with my friend and colleague, Portland attorney Brian Campf, I am interested in talking to students (current and past) of WCI about their experiences there.

Feel free to contact me: dfs@pspc.com.

David F. Sugerman