State Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against WVU Book-Buying Program
A state court judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Book Exchange, an independent bookstore in Morgantown, West Virginia, against West Virginia University and Barnes & Noble, which manages WVU’s bookstores. Monongalia County Circuit Court Judge Robert Stone made the ruling at a hearing on October 11. He also dissolved an injunction that was granted in July against WVU. Here is the Associated Press story on the dismissal, which appeared in the Saturday Gazette-Mail on October 13.
The lawsuit alleged that WVU's program of withholding funds from financial aid recipients and designating that the money can be spent only at WVU’s bookstore violated state antitrust, unfair trade practice, and consumer protection statutes. In July, another Circuit Court judge had granted the Book Exchange's request for an injunction against WVU, which notified students via e-mail that the funds had been reserved and were available for use.The AP story doesn't have any details on the basis for the dismissal, and Judge Stone has not yet entered an order reflecting his ruling. As soon as an order is entered, I'll make it available.
