UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 

CASE NO.: 20-CV-61431-RAR 

LEO FERRETTI, individually and on behalf 

of himself and all others similarly situated, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, INC., 

Defendant. 

____________________________________/ 

DEFENDANT’S NOTICE OF PENDING, 

REFILED, RELATED OR SIMILAR ACTIONS 

Defendant, Nova Southeastern University (“Nova”), by and through undersigned counsel 

and pursuant to S.D. Fla. L. R. 3.8, hereby gives notice to the Court that there currently is pending 

a similar, later-filed putative class action against Nova, which (1) arises out of Nova’s closure of 

its on-campus facilities and transition to remote/virtual/online teaching in response to the COVID19 pandemic; and (2) seeks the same relief on behalf of the same putative class members.1

 Both 

this case and the later-filed case are summarized below and listed in order of filing in the United 

States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, from earliest to latest. 

IDENTIFICATION OF CASES 

1. Leo Ferretti, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, v. Nova 

Southeastern University, Inc., Case No. 0:20-cv-61431-RAR. This lawsuit is pending before the 

this Court. 

Plaintiff filed his original Complaint on July 15, 2020, ECF No. 1, and served Nova with 

initial process on July 24, 2020, ECF No. 7. In his original Complaint, Plaintiff alleged four claims 

1

 Nova has filed this identical Notice in the later-filed case before Judge Cooke.

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CASE NO.: 20-CV-61431-RAR 

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against Nova arising out of the closure of Nova’s campus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic 

and its transition to remote learning for a portion of the Spring 20202 term and the Summer 2020 

term: breach of contract, contract implied in law (restitution/quasi-contract), unjust enrichment 

and conversion. ECF No. 1. On September 4, 2020, Nova moved to dismiss the Complaint for 

failure to state a claim. ECF No. 20. 

In response, Plaintiff filed his First Amended Class Action Complaint on September 25, 

2020. ECF No. 25. In the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff now asserts two claims against Nova for 

the Winter 2020 term: breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Id. Plaintiff seeks a refund of a 

portion of his tuition and fees for the Winter 2020 semester for himself and the putative class. Id. 

Plaintiff has defined the proposed class as follows: “All persons who paid, on behalf of themselves 

or another, tuition or fees for in-person education at Nova Southeastern University for the Winter 

2020 term.” Id. at § 76. On October 16, 2020, Nova timely moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s First 

Amended Class Action Complaint for failure to state a claim. ECF No. 32. On October 16, 2020, 

Nova also filed a Motion to Strike the Class Allegations in Plaintiff’s First Amended Class Action 

Complaint. ECF No. 30. 

Meanwhile, on July 29, 2020, the Court had ordered the parties to hold a Joint Scheduling 

Conference and file a Joint Scheduling Report. ECF No. 8. The parties filed their Joint Discovery 

Plan and Scheduling Report and proposed Scheduling Order on September 25, 2020. ECF No. 

26. The Court entered the Scheduling Order on October 1, 2020. ECF No. 27. Trial in that lawsuit 

is currently set for September 27, 2021. Id. Defendant, however, filed an unopposed motion for 

a limited stay of discovery pending resolution of the pending dispositive motion on October 30, 

2020. ECF No. 38. On November 10, 2020, the Court granted the motion for a limited stay of 

2

 Plaintiff has since correctly identified the term as the “Winter 2020” term. 

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discovery pending the Court’s ruling on Defendant’s Motion to Strike the Class Action Allegations 

of the Amended Complaint and Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint. ECF 

No. 44. 

2. Tristan Craig, On behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, v. Nova 

Southeastern University, Case No. 1:20-cv-23818-MGC. That case is currently pending before 

the Honorable Marcia G. Cooke. 

In the operative Complaint, Plaintiff brings three claims against Nova arising out of the 

closure of Nova’s campus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its transition to remote 

learning for a portion of the Winter 2020 term and the Summer 2020 term: breach of contract, 

unjust enrichment and conversion. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff seeks a refund of a portion of his tuition 

and fees for the Winter 2020 semester for himself and the putative class. Id. Plaintiff has defined 

the proposed class as follows: “All persons who paid, or will pay, tuition and/or the Mandatory 

Fees for a student to attend in-person class(es) during the Winter 2020 or any other semester 

affected by Covid-19 at Nova Southeastern but had their educational experiences and class(es) 

moved to online only learning.” Id. at ¶ 41. On October 7, 2020, Plaintiff returned the executed 

waiver of service by Nova, thereby making Nova’s response to the Complaint due on December 

7, 2020. ECF No. 7. No Scheduling Order has been entered. 

APPLICABLE RULES 

S.D. Fla. Local Rule 3.8, Notice of Transfer of Refiled and Similar Actions and Procedures, 

provides as follows: 

It shall be the continuing duty of the attorneys of record in every 

action or proceeding to bring promptly to the attention of the Court 

and opposing counsel the existence of other actions or proceedings 

as described in Section 2.15.00 of the Court’s Internal Operating 

Procedures, as well as the existence of any similar actions or 

proceedings then pending before another court or administrative 

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CASE NO.: 20-CV-61431-RAR 

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agency. Such notice shall be given by filing with the Court and 

serving a “Notice of Pending, Refiled, Related or Similar Actions,” 

containing a list and description thereof sufficient for identification. 

In turn, Section 2.15.00 of the Court’s Internal Operating Procedures, Transfer of Similar 

Actions, provides as follows: 

Whenever an action or proceeding is filed in the Court which 

involves subject matter which is a material part of the subject matter 

of another action or proceeding then pending before this Court, or 

for other reasons the disposition thereof would appear to entail the 

unnecessary duplication of judicial labor if heard by a different 

Judge, the Judges involved shall determine whether the highernumbered action or proceeding shall be transferred to the Judge 

assigned to the lower-numbered action. (See IOP 2.06.00 Transfer 

of Higher-Numbered Cases). 

Finally, Section 2.06.00 of the Court’s Internal Operating Procedures provides, in pertinent 

part, as follows: 

Each division in the Southern District of Florida has its own series of 

numbers which are sequentially assigned to cases. Therefore, for the 

purpose of higher-numbered transfers, the “lower-numbered” case refers 

to the earlier-filed case. The judge assigned the higher-numbered case shall 

prepare a proposed Order of Transfer and a Notice to the parties that the 

higher-numbered case is transferred to the docket of the judge having the 

lower-numbered case, effective upon that judge’s consent to the transfer. 

In accordance with the above-cited Rules and Procedures, Nova respectfully submits this 

Notice in each case so that this Court and Judge Cooke may consider transfer of the related case 

to the docket of this Court, which is presiding over the earliest-filed case against Nova in this 

District. 

Respectfully submitted, 

s/ Mendy Halberstam

 Mendy Halberstam, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 68999 

Email: Mendy.Halberstam@jacksonlewis.com

Stephanie L. Adler-Paindiris, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 0523283 

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CASE NO.: 20-CV-61431-RAR 

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Email: Stephanie.AdlerPaindiris@jacksonlewis.com

Allison Gluvna Folk, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 041075 

Email: Allison.Folk@jacksonlewis.com

Shayla N. Waldon, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 105626 

Email: Shayla.Waldon@jacksonlewis.com

JACKSON LEWIS P.C. 

One Biscayne Tower, Suite 3500 

Two South Biscayne Boulevard 

Miami, FL 33131 

Telephone: (305) 577-7600 

and 

Richard A. Beauchamp, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 471313 

Email: rbeauchamp@panzamaurer.com

PANZA MAURER 

2400 East Commercial Boulevard 

Suite 905 

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 

Telephone: (954) 390-0100 

Counsel for Defendant

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on November 19, 2020, I electronically filed the foregoing 

document with the Clerk of the Court using CM/ECF. I also certify that the foregoing document 

is being served this day on all counsel of record identified on the attached Service List via 

transmission of Notice of Electronic Filing generated by CM/ECF and Electronic Mail. 

s/ Mendy Halberstam

Mendy Halberstam, Esq. 

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CASE NO.: 20-CV-61431-RAR 

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SERVICE LIST 

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida 

Ferretti, et al. v. NSU Southeastern University, Inc. 

CASE NO.: 20-CV-61431-RAR 

Matthew D. Schultz, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 0640328 

Email: mschultz@levinlaw.com 

Rebecca K. Timmons, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 121701 

Email: rtimmons@levinlaw.com

Brenton J. Goodman, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 126153 

Email: bgoodman@levinlaw.com

LEVIN, PAPANTONIO, THOMAS 

MITCHELL, RAFFERTY & PROCTOR, P.A. 

316 S. Baylen Street, Suite 600 

Pensacola, FL 32502 

Telephone: (850) 435-7140 

Patrick F. Madden, Esq. 

Admitted Pro Hac Vice 

Email: pmadden@bm.net

BERGER MONTAGUE, P.C. 

1818 Market Street, Suite 3600 

Philadelphia, PA 19103 

Telephone: (215) 875-3000 

Counsel for Plaintiff and the Proposed Class

Mendy Halberstam, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 68999 

Email: Mendy.Halberstam@jacksonlewis.com

Stephanie L. Adler-Paindiris, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 0523283 

Email: Stephanie.AdlerPaindiris@jacksonlewis.com

Allison Gluvna Folk, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 041075 

Email: Allison.Folk@jacksonlewis.com

Shayla N. Waldon, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 105626 

Email: Shayla.Waldon@jacksonlewis.com

JACKSON LEWIS P.C. 

One Biscayne Tower, Suite 3500 

Two South Biscayne Boulevard 

Miami, FL 33131 

Telephone: (305) 577-7600 

Richard A. Beauchamp, Esq. 

Florida Bar No. 471313 

Email: rbeauchamp@panzamaurer.com

PANZA MAURER 

2400 East Commercial Boulevard 

Suite 905 

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 

Telephone: (954) 390-0100 

Counsel for Defendant 

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