Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING—NYSupCt: Law School Not Liable For Allegedly Misleading Post-Graduate Employment Statistics , (Apr 30, 2013)

By Jody Coultas, J.D.

Brooklyn Law School graduates could not state New York unfair trade practices claims against the school for falsely advertising its post-graduate employment rates, a New York Supreme Court has held (Bevelacqua v. Brooklyn Law School, April 22, 2013, Schmidt, D.).

The law school graduates alleged that they relied on allegedly false and misleading marketing materials highlighting the school’s post-graduate employment and salary information in choosing to enroll in the school. After being unable to find legal employment, the students sought damages and equitable relief under New York General Business Law §§349 and 350, based on the school combining in its employment statistics those graduates who obtained full-time legal jobs with those who obtained non-legal jobs, part-time, voluntary, and temporary jobs.

Because the students could not show that the employment statistics were objectively deceptive, the court dismissed the claims. The students needed to show that the statements were likely to mislead a reasonable consumer.

The employment data was broken down into six employer types, and all but two were employers that may not require a J.D. A reasonable consumer would not believe that the statistics for corporate jobs, for instance, excluded those that did not require a J.D. Employment statistics would reasonably be read to include all jobs, not only legal jobs.

It was also unreasonable for a student to decide to attend a specific law school based solely on employment statistics, according to the court. The students argued that the reported salary statistics belied the fact that the amount of tuition did not make economic sense. However, the school provided sufficient information to show that most graduates earned modest incomes, the court found. The school also disclosed that its salary information was reflective of less than half of employed graduates overall.

The students were unable to show a connection between their alleged injury and Brooklyn Law School’s conduct, according to the court. The weakened economy and loss of jobs across all levels of the legal sector prohibited the students from proving their losses.

The case is No. 500175/2012.

Attorneys: Frank Raimond (The Law Offices of Frank Raimond) for Adam Bevelacqua. J. Russell Jackson (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP) for Brooklyn Law School.

Companies: Brooklyn Law School

Cases: Advertising StateUnfairTradePractices NewYorkNews