Fuller, et al. v. Bloom Institute of Technology, formerly d/b/a Lambda School, et al., CGC-23-605179 (Sup. Ct. Cal.)

Bloom Institute of Technology, formerly Lambda School, is a for-profit, unaccredited computer coding bootcamp that opened in 2017. Since its inception, Lambda has marketed itself as a no-money-down path to a high-paying tech job. Instead of traditional tuition, students sign Income Share Agreements (ISAs) or similar tuition payment plans for up to $30,000 in future earnings. And as proof that its students succeed, Lambda has advertised lofty job placement rates ranging up to 90 percent.

In reality, Lambda privately revealed that its true job placement rates have ranged between just 27 and 50 percent. Lambda also misrepresented that it had state approval to operate when, in fact, it did not. Through these misrepresentations, Lambda enrolled thousands of students, saddling each with up to $30,000 in ISA or similar tuition plan repayment obligations.

In March of 2023, Miner Barnhill & Galland, the National Student Legal Defense Network, and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy filed a class action lawsuit against Lambda, and its CEO Austen Allred, on behalf of students who enrolled with Lambda or Bloom on or after March 2020. The lawsuit alleged that Lambda violated multiple California consumer protection laws by misrepresenting job placement rates and operating without state approval. That case Fuller, et al. v. Bloom Institute of Technology, formerly d/b/a Lambda School, et al., CGC-23-605179 (Sup. Ct. Cal.) was filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco. The Defendants subsequently removed the action to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 23-cv-01440-AGT).

In early 2024, Magistrate Judge Alex Tse of the Northern District of California issued a ruling granting Defendants’ request for arbitration and dismissing the class action. As a result of this ruling, the Fuller class action lawsuit described above is no longer going forward.

Even though the Fuller class action is not going forward, Miner Barnhill & Galland is filing individual arbitration demands on behalf of some individuals that have legal claims against Lambda/Bloom for misrepresenting job placement rates and operating without state approval.

If you are interested in speaking with our firm about individual legal claims you may have against Lambda/Bloom, please complete the contact form below. Complete the contact form below as soon as possible as there are time limits that may apply to your potential individual legal claims against Lambda/Bloom.