KRISTEN GALBAN v. INSTITUTE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION OF STUDENTS

A Court authorized the Notice because, as a Class Member, you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options and rights before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. The Notice explains the Lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

In this lawsuit, Plaintiff claims that IES’s decision to transition its Study Abroad Program to remote learning from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for the Spring 2020 Semester amounted to a breach of its contractual obligations to provide the in-person educational services and international experiences promised as part of that Program, including room and board, meals, and field trips that were paid for but not experienced. Plaintiff also asserted that IES was unjustly enriched by retaining these payments. IES denies that it breached any such contractual obligations because it retained the legal right to change its program at any time and therefore denies Plaintiff’s allegations.

The District Court agreed with IES and dismissed the case based on language in the IES contract that provided authority for IES to change to the program.  Plaintiff appealed that decision to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.  Before the Court of Appeals ruled on the appeal, the Parties agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation.

In a class action, one or more people called class representatives sue on behalf of a group or a “class” of people who they allege have similar claims. In a class action, the court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.

Although a final decision has not been made on who will win this case, both sides agreed to a Settlement to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation.  And, Settlement Class Members will receive compensation sooner rather than, if at all, after the completion of the appeal and any future trial.

You are included if you were a student enrolled in Spring 2020 IES Study Abroad Program for Vienna, Austria, and directly paid IES for your tuition and housing costs for that Program.  You were identified by the business records of IES as being enrolled in this Program and a Class Member. 

A Settlement Fund has been created from which each Settlement Class Member who does not opt out will automatically receive a $250.00 Settlement Payment. 

Payments will be distributed after the Court grants Final Approval to the Settlement. The Parties cannot accurately predict when (or whether) the Court will grant Final Approval to the Settlement, or whether there may be appeals from that order that take additional time to resolve, so please be patient.

The Settlement Administrator will send payments to eligible Class Members between 30 and 60 days after final approval. The payments will be made via check.  All checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued.

The Court has appointed Varnell & Warwick, P.A. to be the attorneys representing the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class. You will not be charged attorney fees for Class Counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer in this case, you may hire one at your expense.  Class Counsel is asking the Court to approve payment to them in the amount of $30,000.00. This amount will not reduce the Settlement Payments being made to you. 

The Court has appointed Plaintiff Kristen Galban to act as Class Representative on behalf of the Class.  Plaintiff Galban has brought this case, hired Class Counsel and litigated the case on behalf of the Class.  She has participated in the investigation of the case, discovery, and attended multiple day-long mediations sessions where she represented the Class in settlement negotiations.  To compensate her for her time and efforts on behalf of the Settlement Class, the parties have negotiated the payment of a $8,200.00 Service Award to Plaintiff Galban, subject to Court approval.

You may exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you do so, you will not receive any Settlement Payment.  You will not release any claims you may have against IES, and you will be free to pursue whatever legal rights you may have by pursuing your own lawsuit against IES at your own risk and expense, if you choose to do so. 

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a timely written request to the Settlement Administrator at:
Galban v IES c/o Settlement Administrator
PO Box 23309
Jacksonville, FL 32241
Your request must be postmarked by May 4, 2026.  

Your request to be excluded from the Settlement must:
(a) include a simple statement requesting exclusion from the Settlement Class;
(b) be personally signed by you;
(c) include the case name (Galban v. Institute for the International Education of Students, Case No. 1:22-cv-4917); and
(d) include your name, address, and either a telephone number or email address.

If you are a Settlement Class Member (and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class), you can object to any part of the Settlement. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must mail your written objection(s) to the Clerk of Court with a postmark no later than May 4, 2026. Your written objections must:
(a) state that you are a Settlement Class Member in Galban v. Institute for the International Education of Students, Case 1:22-cv-4917);
(b) include your name, address, email, and/or telephone number;
(d) be personally signed by you;
(e) contain a statement detailing all objections and provides the specific reasons for all objections, including any legal arguments and evidentiary support (including copies of any documents relied upon); and
(f) include a statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, with or without counsel.

You must also mail or deliver copies of your written objection(s) to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel listed below, at the same time that you mail your written objection(s) to the Court:

IF YOU DO NOT TIMELY AND VALIDLY MAKE YOUR OBJECTION(S), YOU WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE WAIVED ALL OBJECTIONS AND WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO SPEAK AT THE FINAL APPROVAL HEARING.

The Court has already granted Preliminary Approval of the Settlement. A final hearing on the Settlement will be held to determine the fairness of the Settlement. The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on June 24, 2026 at 11:00am in person at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604. The courtroom will be assigned fourteen (14) days before the scheduled Final Approval Hearing so please check this website after June 10, 2026 for this information. The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change by the Court, and the hearing may be conducted remotely. Any changes, including instructions for how Settlement Class Members may attend the hearing if it is conducted virtually or by telephonic means, will be posted online on this website. If the Settlement is given Final Approval, the Settlement’s terms will take effect and the Lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice.

If the Court does not grant Final Approval of the Settlement, if Final Approval is reversed on appeal, or if the Settlement does not become final for some other reason, Plaintiff, IES, and Class Members will be placed back in the same position in the litigation as they were before the execution of the Settlement, and the Settlement will have no legal effect, and no class will be certified (conditionally or otherwise). 

The Notice is only a summary of the terms of the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement which, along with other documents in the case, can be found on the Important Court Documents page of this website.

If you have any questions, you can also contact the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel at the contact information set forth below.

Please do not contact the Judge or the Clerk of the Court or IES about this case except as instructed in the Notice. They cannot give you advice on your options.