Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING—11th Cir.: State university protected by sovereign immunity from misleading advertising claims, (Jun 29, 2015)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

A summary judgment order, dismissing a former student’s misleading advertising and tort claims against a state university on sovereign immunity grounds, was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta (Williams v. Becker, June 26, 2015, Per Curiam).

Background. Mosi Williams alleged that Florida State University (FSU) advertised a doctorate in sports psychology with an option to “respecialize” in counseling. After completing two years of the sports psychology program, FSU terminated the “respecialization” program and Williams had to apply to the “combined counseling and school psychology program” (combined program). After FSU refused to admit him to the program, Williams enrolled elsewhere to pursue licensure as a psychologist.

Williams filed a complaint against FSU alleging breach of contract, misleading advertising, deceptive and unfair trade practices, and negligence in violation of state law. The district court granted FSU’s motion for summary judgment based on sovereign immunity after it determined that: (1) FSU was immune from liability for William’s claim of breach of contract; and (2) Williams failed to timely notify FSU of his tort claims, as required for a waiver of state sovereign immunity.

Sovereign immunity. The court noted that FSU, as a part of the public university system in Florida, has sovereign immunity from tort liability unless the action is based on an “express, written contract” that it has authority to enter into. Although Williams was unable to produce an “express, written contract” between himself and the university, he argued that his “Program of Study” constituted a contract. The court disagreed, finding that the document did not require FSU to admit Williams to a “respecialization” program or a combined doctorate program. Because Williams was unable to produce an “express, written contract” between himself and FSU, the court affirmed the district court’s determination that his breach of contract was barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

Misleading advertising, other tort claims. The state of Florida waives sovereign immunity for certain torts provided that a claimant presents a written claim, within three years after such claim accrued, to the appropriate agency and to the Department of Financial Services. The court determined that Williams’s complaint did not meet the three-year requirement because his claimed accrued on November 2, 2009, when he received a letter from FSU denying his request for reconsideration of the combined program, and he did not provide notice of his claim to FSU until sometime in 2013.

Williams argued that his claim accrued in December of 2010 because that was when FSU dismissed him for the sports psychology doctoral program. However, the court determined that this event was unrelated to ability to respecialize or obtain a combined degree from FSU.

The case is No. 14-10806

Attorneys: Mosi Williams, pro se. Thomas Robert Thompson (Thompson Crawford & Smiley) for Florida State University.

Companies: Florida State University

Cases: Advertising StateUnfairTradePractices AlabamaNews FloridaNews GeorgiaNews