Former Le Moyne College undergraduates from the spring 2020 semester do not need to file anything to be paid from the college’s $243,206 COVID fee settlement — the only decision due by October 19, 2026 is whether you want the money by check or electronically. Checks go to the address Le Moyne has on file, which may be out of date for anyone who has moved since 2020. After fees and costs, the share per student is small: OpenClassActions.com estimates at most about $57.
Status: Preliminary approval granted, final approval pending | No claim form — payment is automatic | Election Form, opt-out and objection deadline October 19, 2026 | Equal shares of the net fund
What the Settlement Resolves — and What It Doesn’t
The lawsuit, Germakovski v. Le Moyne College, Index No. 009143/2024, was filed on September 5, 2024 in New York State Supreme Court, Onondaga County. It alleged that Le Moyne broke its contract with students when it moved classes and campus services online in March 2020 without refunding tuition or fees.
Tuition is no longer part of the case. In June 2025 the court dismissed the tuition refund claim and the unjust enrichment claim. What survived, and what is being settled, are breach-of-contract claims over the mandatory comprehensive fee and the academic and incidental fees for spring 2020. According to the complaint, those included a $500 comprehensive fee covering health, technology and activities, plus lab-related charges.
Le Moyne denies the allegations and any wrongdoing or liability, and the settlement is not an admission of either. The parties reached an agreement in principle on April 20, 2026. Justice Joseph E. Lamendola granted preliminary approval in August 2026; the settlement website gives August 20, and the signed order was filed on the court’s electronic docket on August 21 as NYSCEF Doc. No. 76. The order provisionally certified a settlement class under CPLR Article 9 and appointed class counsel from Leeds Brown Law and Lynch Carpenter.
Were You a Spring 2020 Class Member?
The court-approved notice defines the class as all Le Moyne undergraduates who were charged tuition and/or mandatory fees and were enrolled in at least one in-person, on-campus class in the spring 2020 semester. Graduate students are not included.
The settlement agreement leaves three groups out of the payments:
- students enrolled only in online classes when the spring 2020 semester began;
- students who paid no tuition or fees; and
- students who left Le Moyne before March 1, 2020.
Notices and Election Forms were sent by mail and email, dated September 18, 2026. If you got one, Le Moyne’s records place you in the class.
Where the $243,206 Goes
Several court-approved costs come out of the fund before students are paid. Each is a maximum the court can reduce.
| Settlement fund | $243,206 |
| Attorneys’ fees (one-third of the fund) | Up to $81,068.66 |
| Litigation costs | Up to $20,000 |
| Named plaintiff service award | Up to $2,500 |
| Administration costs | Up to $24,990 |
| Net fund if every request is approved in full | About $114,650 |
That net fund is divided in equal shares among every class member who does not opt out. News coverage citing court papers put the class at more than 2,000 people, which is how OpenClassActions.com arrived at its estimate of at most about $57 per person. That is an estimate, not an official figure, and it falls as the class count rises. Each notice prints that recipient’s own estimated award, and the final number depends on the class count and on what the court approves.
The One Choice Worth Making Before October 19
Doing nothing still gets you paid: a paper check goes to the address in Le Moyne’s records after final approval. The risk is that the address is stale: a class member who has moved since spring 2020 may not be at the address the college has on record.
To avoid a check chasing an old address, submit the optional Election Form and choose an electronic payment instead. Open the online Election Form on the official Le Moyne College settlement website, enter the Notice ID and PIN from your notice, and pick Venmo, PayPal or another available method. The form can also be mailed. The Notice ID and PIN are used only for this; they have no bearing on your eligibility for payment.
The settlement agreement gives an extra 15 days for Election Forms from class members who missed October 19 because of a change of address, military service, hospitalization or other extraordinary circumstances. The official sources give a date but no time of day for the deadline.
Checks are void 180 days after they are issued. Unclaimed money goes back to Le Moyne for a general scholarship fund and/or an emergency relief fund for students, so a check that sits uncashed does not return to the class.
Opting Out or Objecting
Both are due October 19, 2026.
- Opt out: a signed written statement with your name, address, telephone number and a clear statement that you want to be excluded, postmarked or submitted online by the deadline. Opting out means no payment and no right to object.
- Object: a written objection postmarked by the deadline. Objectors stay in the class.
Full instructions for both are in the notice and on the official settlement website, run by the administrator, Apex Class Action.
The Hearing Date Is Not Settled
The court-approved notice sets the final approval hearing for December 17, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Onondaga County courthouse in Syracuse. The settlement website, however, still lists the hearing as “to be scheduled” and says it will post the date once the court sets it. Check the official site before relying on December 17.
Payments go out only after the final effective date, which comes once any appeals are resolved. Even the timing after that is inconsistent in the official materials: one page of the settlement website says payments follow within 30 days, another says 40. No payment date had been announced as of September 27, 2026, and the court has not decided whether to approve the settlement. The Le Moyne College settlement page on OpenClassActions.com embeds the September 18 notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to file a claim in the Le Moyne College settlement?
No. Eligible class members who do not opt out are paid automatically after final approval. The Election Form only changes how you are paid; without it, a paper check is mailed to the address Le Moyne has on file.
How much will each student get?
The net fund, about $114,650 if all fee and cost requests are approved in full, is split equally among class members who stay in. With a class reported at more than 2,000 people, OpenClassActions.com estimates at most about $57 each. Your notice shows your own estimated award.
Does the settlement refund tuition?
No. The court dismissed the tuition refund and unjust enrichment claims in June 2025. The settlement covers breach-of-contract claims over the mandatory comprehensive fee and academic and incidental fees for spring 2020.
I moved after graduating. What should I do?
Submit the online Election Form by October 19, 2026 using the Notice ID and PIN from your notice, and choose Venmo, PayPal or another electronic method so the payment does not go to an old address.
Who does not get paid?
Students enrolled only in online classes at the start of spring 2020, students who paid no tuition or fees, students who left Le Moyne before March 1, 2020, graduate students, and anyone who opts out.
Sources
- Official settlement website, Election Form and court documents — Le Moyne College Settlement, administered by Apex Class Action.
- Notice of Class Action Settlement dated September 18, 2026, and the order granting preliminary approval in Germakovski v. Le Moyne College, Index No. 009143/2024, NYSCEF Doc. No. 76, New York State Supreme Court, Onondaga County.
- Syracuse.com reporting on the settlement filing, republished by Government Technology, July 20, 2026.
- OpenClassActions.com — Le Moyne College COVID Fee Settlement.
Source and credit: the settlement terms, deadlines and benefit details described above are drawn from our sister site’s reporting — OpenClassActions.com: Le Moyne College $243,206 COVID Fee Settlement Pays Spring 2020 Students Automatically — which tracks this case against the court-approved notice and the official settlement website and is updated as the court rules.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. OpenClassActions.org is a consumer news site, not a law firm and not the settlement administrator, and is not affiliated with any party to the case described. The allegations are allegations; unless a court has ruled, the defendants deny wrongdoing and no court has decided the merits. Deadlines, benefit amounts and payment timing can change as the court and the administrator act, so confirm current status on the official settlement website. You never need to pay anyone to file a claim or to receive a settlement payment.