By Bill Wichert

Law360 (August 11, 2020, 8:03 PM EDT) -- Manchester University, a small liberal arts school in Indiana, called on a New Jersey federal court Tuesday to end a graduate's proposed class action over the cancellation of in-person classes in spring 2020 because of COVID-19, saying the school has no relevant ties to the Garden State.

Plaintiff Hermela Mebrahtu, who identified herself as a New Jersey resident in the May 1 action, "cannot show that Manchester had any connections with New Jersey that relate to her claims," the university said in urging the court to toss the suit on the grounds it has neither general nor specific jurisdiction over the school.

Mebrahtu, who is originally from Ethiopia, "lived in on-campus housing for international students" and "traveled to New Jersey after the campus shutdown because her boyfriend resided there," according to the university's brief. She graduated following the semester, the school said.

"She alleges no New Jersey contacts by Manchester — because there are none — from which her cause of action arises," the brief states.

The school, which is affiliated with the Church of the Brethren and based in North Manchester, Indiana, enrolls about 1,400 students, according to its website.

The complaint alleged that Mebrahtu and other students did not get the experience they paid for after the university switched to all-remote learning in March and that they are entitled to a refund of the prorated share of tuition and fees for the services Manchester failed to provide.

In the spring 2020 semester, full-time undergraduate tuition was $16,688, in addition to certain mandatory fees, the complaint said.

The "online learning options" offered by the school have been "subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty," Mebrahtu's complaint said.

Mebrahtu asserted in the complaint that the court has personal jurisdiction over Manchester because the school "conducts substantial business in this district and has sufficient minimum contacts with New Jersey."

Manchester has "solicited" students living in New Jersey to attend the school; accepted tuition and fees from students living in the state; has websites "accessible to students in New Jersey" and has "entered into contracts with New Jersey residents," the complaint said.

The university said Tuesday that those "bare allegations, even if true — which they are not — are insufficient to render Manchester 'at home' in New Jersey for purposes of general jurisdiction."

The school noted that it is incorporated in Indiana, that its two campuses are there, and that it "neither owns property in New Jersey nor has employees, officers, or agents that reside in New Jersey." Since 2014, "only one New Jersey resident has matriculated at Manchester," and that person attended the school from 2011 to 2014, the university said.

"Manchester neither recruits students in New Jersey nor enters into contracts with New Jersey residents, had no enrolled students residing in New Jersey at the time of the COVID-19 campus closure, and did not target New Jersey residents through its website or other means," the university said.

In claiming the court does not have specific jurisdiction, Manchester cited a series of New Jersey federal court and Third Circuit decisions, including U.S. District Judge Esther Salas' July 23, 2019, opinion in Gorbaty v. Mitchell Hamline Sch. of Law , which related to the Minnesota law school's rescinding its offer of admission to a prospective student.

Judge Salas reasoned she did not have personal jurisdiction over the school, citing a lack of evidence that "Mitchell Hamline specifically targeted its website, its advertisement, or its activity at prospective students in New Jersey."

Consistent with Gorbaty and other decisions, "Mebrahtu has failed to establish that Manchester is subject to personal jurisdiction in this Court," Manchester argued.

"Moreover, even if Manchester received income from students residing in New Jersey (and it has not), doing so would not subject it to jurisdiction in this court," the university said.

Counsel for Manchester declined to comment Tuesday. Counsel for Mebrahtu did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Mebrahtu is represented by Andrew Obergfell and Sarah N. Westcot of Bursor & Fisher PA.

Manchester is represented by Regina S.E. Murphy, D. Randall Brown and Mark D. Scudder of Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

The case is Hermela Mebrahtu v. Manchester University, case number 3:20-cv-05457, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

--Editing by Jill Coffey.

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