posted
Knowing how many Hatrackers are lawyers (or students of law), I was hoping I might avail myself of your collective wisdom.
A friend of mine is a member of, and lives in a certain fraternity. That is, he did, until the housing bill went up about 40% between last semester and this coming one -where it was cheaper to live in the frat than in the dorms/apartments the university offered (no living out-in-town allowed at this college), it is now around $1500 more expensive. The college's bills went up by a reasonble 5% or so (still above inflation though).
Now, he had agreed (by email) to live in the house next semester in June. I think the exact statement was " Dear -----, I'll be living in the house next semester." However, about 2 weeks later, the new costs were annouced, and took everyone by surprise. The frat treasuer himself said that the bills were exceptionally high.
My friend who's an international student (Dad earns around $2500 a year, in American dollars) simply can't pay the amount they're asking. The frat is saying that the email is a contract, and he can't get out of paying for the next semester, even if he deactivates from the frat and lives in a university-owned apartment. In fact, they've already billed him through the university.
Now, in his intial email (where he agreed to live in the house the next semester), there was no mention of the cost, nor any mention of his billing. According to my understanding of contract law (which is a layperson's, although I had similar troubles detangling myself from MY sorority - don't go Greek!), it can be argued both that it isn't a contract (since he didn't offer them anything in return for his room), and that, even if it should be considered a contract, he should be allowed to "escape" from it, given that there was:
A)a mutual or unilateral mistake as to a basic assumption upon which the contract was made (his basic assumption being that one doesn't expect a 40% increase in costs)
B)a misrepresentation of facts inducing one of the parties to enter the contract (they didn't give any suggestion that the cost would be so high - in fact, they didn't tell him the cost)
C)performance of the contract becomes impossible or extremely difficult or costly by virtue of events occurring after the contract is formed (he doesn't have the money, his parents don't have the money, and he can't get a loan since they require an American citizen co-signee).
Now, after all that background info, how (if at all) accurate is this information? And if he does have a case, how should he go about getting the bill rescinded or getting his money back? Small claims court? The college is in Indiana, if any state laws would have some bearing on the case.
Thanks a lot, Hatrack legal wizards! Any help would be greatly appricated by a poor international student. Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Has your friend tried going to the school financial department (or business office) and explained his situation? I can't believe that the school wouldn't take the charge off his account after they found out what's going on.
I know very little about actual law, but I'd be shocked if he had to go to court to get this all sorted out.
Posts: 367 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I can't be too specific, but I'd say there's good reason to believe the email did not constitute a contract or, if it did, that there are reasons for voiding it. It would depend on communications between the fraternity and him leading up to his email.
If they billed him through the university, the university may want to void the bill just to avoid getting involved.
I would suggest he go to the school and ask to have it removed from the bill, saying he did not agree to it. He should avoid characterizing his email in any way, and if he can't get immediate satisfaction, he should seek legal help.
Is there a law school at the university? Or a legal aid clinic? Schools usually try to avoid such conflicts escalating into legal battles.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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This is out of jurisdiction for me, so I can only speculate. Usually leases need to be in writing and signed, and I don't know of anywhere that considers an email "signed". And yeah, different places have different standards about what needs to be in the contract, whether price or duration or whatever are essential - I had to research the details once as a clerk, and I found that there's a lot of variety. If your friend's school has a law school, they may do free student clinics.
Posts: 700 | Registered: Feb 2000
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It's a pretty small school (private liberal arts college), so there's no one on campus who can offer legal advice.
The greek system is VERY strong here, so there are school officials who are set in place to help negotiate between the college's admin, the students, and the greek organizations. They weren't much help to me when I was in a similar situation, but I think they're helping my friend out more.
Nobody else in the admin enjoys getting involved in greek problems, so I doubt the billing office would be willing to just cancel the charge. They just say it's between the student and the greek org, and should be settled between the two.
OlavMah - in case this doesn't get settled amiably, can you suggest a way to research those "details" about leasing contracts in this particular place?
Thanks a lot to everybody for their help!
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
There should be a state agency, similar to this one. I'd start at consumer affairs on your state's web site, although in some states it's in a different department.
There are also lots of local laws, so a city/county website may be helpful.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
How are these frat housing contracts usually formed?
When your friend first moved in, did he simply email the frat and stated "yes I'm moving in" and that was used as a contract binding both parties? Or are the emails just a headcount leading up to a more formal contract down the line?
If informal emails have always been used to create housing contract between your friend and the frat, then I think the frat may have a decent case.
IMHO, I doubt your university will take the frat's side. Contact the financial aid office, the academic counseling office, the ombudsman office, your law school's legal aid center, and the school newspaper.
Oh, and don't forget to fire a letter of complaint to the frat's national office and other influential alumni.
Edited to add: I doubt the other frat members are happy with the 40% increase. Your friend should get together with the other members and work out a way to boycot this ridiculous price gouging.
quote:no living out-in-town allowed at this college
Can a college really dicatate that its students cannot live outside of campus? If this is the rule, then the University is not merely a payment processor for the frats. They are in fact business partners. If the university tries to avoid responsibility, point out the fact that they created the monopoly that makes the frat's price gouging possible.
Posts: 4116 | Registered: Apr 2002
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