Court approves fee refunds to some students

following COVID-19 lawsuit settlement

There will be a partial refund of fees for students who participated in a transition to online learning during the spring 2020 semester

SARA FORASTIERI Senior Reporter

A $4.5 million settlement will officially be distributed to some Penn students for online learning fees charged during the spring 2020 semester.

On Jan. 19, a court granted final approval to a settlement of a class action lawsuit against Penn, according to the Penn Covid Refund Settlement website. The settlement addressed claims of a breach of contract by Penn for fees imposed during the remote learning transition at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In return, Penn and the lawsuit’s plaintiffs agreed to a partial refund of tuition and fees for all students who participated in a transition to online learning during the spring 2020 semester.

Students enrolled in the University in a course that was not originally meant to be online before March 17, 2020 are considered “Settlement Class Members” affected by the lawsuit. These class members are eligible for reimbursement and do not need to do anything to receive the settlement. If no appeals are filed before Feb. 21, then distribution of funds will occur in April 2023.

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs also alleged that “Penn’s shift to remote learning gave rise to claims of unjust enrichment and conversion,” according to the lawsuit website. The court had previously dismissed the plaintiff’s accounts in April 2022, but one of the plaintiff’s claims was resolved based on a “feebased breach of contract.”

Penn had previously not been found guilty of any liability in court and denied all allegations. The University notified some students of the initial settlement proposal in November 2022, in which it cited the “interest of both Penn and its students in prompt resolution of the matter.”

In response to a request for comment, a University spokesperson directed The Daily Pennsylvanian to the updated version of the notice of proposed class action settlement.

Class Board 2023 President Derek Nhieu told the DP in November that he agreed that Penn should not have charged additional fees for the spring 2020 semester.

“If we ever transition online again, those fees are just not applicable. I feel like [the fees] are very much a disservice to students, when you try to charge them for these types of things,” Nhieu said.

Nhieu said that he received a letter in the mail detailing the class action lawsuit. Although he said he was happy that money would be refunded, he wished that the proposed settlement had been more informative.

The refund of fees for impacted students who are still at Penn will be delivered directly to their student accounts as early as April 2023. Non-continuing students will receive a mailed check or digital payment if requested. Individuals who had opted out before the deadline of Dec. 19 will not receive a settlement.

After 10 years of operation, the

Fried chicken restaurant Wishbone closes University City location after 10 years of service

Wishbone will continue to operate a larger location on S. 13th St.

MOLLY COHEN AND JARED MITOVICH Senior Reporters

Fried chicken restaurant Wishbone closed its University City location on Feb. 19 after 10 years of operation.

The restaurant, which was located at 4034 Walnut St., opened in 2013, replacing Lee’s Hoagie House. Wishbone will continue to operate a larger location on S. 13th St., Wishbone Owner Alan Segel told The Daily Pennsylvanian. Wishbone served customers until 10 p.m. from Sundays to Thursdays and until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“We’re merging the two stores into one for our Center City location,” Segel said.

Wishbone offered a menu that included buttermilk battered chicken tenders and wings, mac and cheese, salads, biscuits, vintage sodas, and cornbread, along with an array of homemade dipping sauces. The 13th St. location offers the same menu and delivery options as the store near Penn’s campus, and it also has a liquor license, Segel said.

Segel added that the University City location’s closure was “indirectly related to the pandemic,” which changed the “whole economics of running a restaurant.” He said that, since the pandemic, delivery persistently made up the majority of sales at the University City location, which made operating a physical storefront “less practical” and led to a “logical decision” to combine both stores.

According to city records, the property license for Wishbone’s University City location ended in June of 2022. Segel said a new tenant will be moving into the spot soon that will introduce a “new concept” to the neighborhood.

College senior Will Turner said that a Wishbone employee informed him that the restaurant would close to customers on Feb. 19 when he was picking up food that evening. He said that the restaurant was “only serving chicken and not sandwiches” on Sunday because it was the business’s last night.

While Turner said there was no sign informing customers of the restaurant’s closure, he said that there could have been competition with Raising Cane’s, a fast food Louisiana-based chicken finger restaurant that opened its first Philadelphia location in May of 2022 at 3925 Walnut St.

“With Raising Cane’s opening up a block away for half the price, I am not surprised that [Wishbone] could not compete,” Turner said. “Every time I went in there, there usually was not anybody else.”

Students expressed disappointment that the beloved restaurant was closing.

“We all felt really sad and shocked when we heard the news, since we live right next to Wishbone, and it has been a big part of our college life since we were freshmen,” Wharton senior Edward Yao said.

Turner said that “it’s sad that it’s going away, because it’s delicious.”

The restaurant’s location on 13th St. in Midtown Village opened in 2016 as Wishbone’s second spot following the University City business.

Wishbone joins the closing of other popular University City restaurants last year. Recently, the family-owned Korean restaurant Koreana closed its doors in April of 2022. University City staple Distrito also announced its closure in July of 2022, citing a lack of demand and an inability for the restaurant to sustain itself financially.

“We had a great time. It was a great run,” Segel said. “It led to a bigger restaurant.”

Luxury suburban 1 bedroom apt. for rent. Walk to RR and be at Penn in 20 minutes. 4 rooms (670 sq ft). MB with walk in closet AC, W/D, large deck, fenced in yard and off street parking. $950. No pets. Call 610-453-4124

Moderated by Dr. Tukufu Zuberi

Source: Philadelphia Food Safety Inspection Reports have occurred with any Penn Dining location on campus.”

According to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, food safety violations are classified either as foodborne illness risk factors or good retail practices, with the former indicating a greater immediate threat to customers. Violations related to good retail practices are generally more common across Penn’s dining locations.

Although many of the possible inspection areas listed in the report pertain to topics such as utilities and facility maintenance, some dining halls at Penn received comments directly related to issues of food and food-contact surface contamination.

For example, the Feb. 6 food facility inspection report at Hill listed six separate sightings of mouse droppings, two of which were observed in direct contact with pans and containers of ingredients. Other noteworthy violations at Hill included utensils with dried food residue being left among clean utensils and a lack of sanitizer available at the dining hall.

The Hill report said that the standards checked by each inspection “control the addition of pathogens, chemicals, and physical objects into foods” and the public health interventions serve as “control measures to prevent foodborne illness and injury.”

Risk factors are improper practices or procedures identified as the most prevalent contributing factors of foodborne illness or injury. Public Health Interventions are control measures to prevent foodborne illness or injury.

Wharton first year Ellis Osborn told the DP that he experienced suspected food poisoning shortly after he ate a burger at Hill, which led to him being escorted to the hospital by the Penn Medical Emergency Response Team.

“When I was at the hospital, they told me that [food poisoning from eating in the dining halls] was very common,” Osborn said. “They said, ‘You are not a rarity among the students at Penn, getting sick from eating at the dining halls.’”

Like Hill, Commons received comments directly pertaining to potential food contamination and hazards such as observations of a cell phone lying on top of a cutting board and “potentially hazardous ready-to-eat food [chicken]” that was not date-marked.

The most recent inspections of the English House dining hall and Houston Market, both from late 2021, also noted insect and rodent activity, as well as accumulation of dust and grease.

While ordering an omelet at Commons, Engineering sophomore Hwi-sang Cho said he saw an employee using her hands to transfer the ingredients while also touching the dishcloth used to clean the counter. Cho said that he was concerned about the food being contaminated with the “other stuff she was touching with her hands.”

“I understand why she did that — the line was pretty long,” Cho told the DP. “I guess at the end of the day, she is preparing our food, so it would be great if [Penn] can [remind] the workers to be aware of the danger of doing something like that.”

Director of Hospitality Services Pam Lampitt wrote in a statement to the DP that the office has taken "corrective measures" and encouraged students to contact the manager at any location where they see problems or have concerns.

“Providing a clean and safe dining experience is our highest priority and formal Health Inspections supplement our own efforts to ensure that we maintain a high standard,” Lampitt wrote.