California bar test takers sue file class action

 

(Reuters) – A trio of test takers on Thursday filed what looks to be the first lawsuit over California’s problem-plagued February bar exam, alleging that exam vendor Meazure Learning failed to provide a functioning test platform despite ample warning of technical troubles.

The proposed federal class action, opens new tab seeks unspecified damages from Meazure Learning. The State Bar of California is not named as a defendant.

“As a result of the total technical breakdown that Meazure caused, the exam was a disaster for test-takers who were traumatized, who had their career ambitions delayed, and who paid Meazure a fee for a defunct platform,” said the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

It’s unclear how many were impacted by the problems, though examinees reported that Meazure Learning’s servers failed more than once on Wednesday in addition to various connectivity and functionality issues Tuesday. About 4,600 were scheduled to take the two-day test this week.

A Meazure Learning spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. State bar general counsel Ellin Davtyan said bar examinees are within their rights to sue, and her organization “will evaluate and respond to the merits of any such legal claims and actions, as appropriate.”

Katherine Aizpuru, a partner at Washington D.C.-based Tycko & Zavareei Washington, is representing the plaintiffs. Aizpuru declined to comment on why the state bar was not included as a defendant.

Courts have generally ruled that as a state government entity, the state bar has immunity from federal lawsuits under the Eleventh Amendment.

Meazure Learning, based in Birmingham, Alabama, bills itself as the “largest and most experienced remote proctoring operation in the market” with more than 1,500 test centers in 115 countries. Meazure was formed through the 2020 merger of testing companies ProctorU and Yardstick.

The state bar in September signed a $4.1 million contract with Meazure to deliver its February and July bar exam after evaluating several online testing companies.

Also on Thursday, the state bar delayed its planned bar exam retake, initially set for March 3 and March 4, to March 18 and 19 for test takers who encountered technological problems this week. The state bar, in a Thursday night email, opens new tab to applicants, attributed that delay to an online leak of an essay question requiring changes to the content of the retake.

The state bar said it is investigating those behind the leak and anyone found responsible could be stripped of their previously granted or pending positive moral character determination.

The February 25 and 26 test was the debut of California’s hybrid, two-day remote and in-person exam without any components of the national bar exam, which the state has used for decades. That change was intended to save the state bar up to $3.8 million annually, but test takers have faced myriad problems, from difficulties in signing up for in-person testing locations to widespread technical issues during the exam.

The state bar has said some examinees were unable to log into the test at all, while others encountered non-working functionality or problems with proctors’ oversight.

The test had about 5,600 registrants, but at least 964 withdrew in the days leading up to the test. The bar offered full refunds to those who withdrew and also said anyone who fails the February exam may retake July at no additional cost.

The state bar’s Thursday email to test takers said it will take several more days to “finalize any other remediation plans” such as score adjustments and is meeting with “other stakeholders.”

Numerous law deans on Thursday called on the California Supreme Court—which oversees the state bar’s attorney admissions function—to intervene on behalf of February bar examinees.

________

REUTERS