[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 3/4/03 ]
Judge OKs class-action status for Life U suit 
By MIA TAYLOR 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 

A Fulton County judge has granted class-action status to nearly 500 students 
who filed suit against Life University.
The lawsuit was filed in Fulton County Superior Court in November. It seeks a 
jury trial and damages. A lawyer for students from the Marietta university says 
they have suffered emotionally and financially because university trustees and 
former President Sid Williams were negligent in losing the school's 
chiropractic accreditation.
The university lost accreditation of its largest degree program, the doctor of 
chiropractic, on Oct. 20. Without program accreditation, graduates of 
chiropractic schools cannot be licensed to practice in most states.
The university is embroiled in a series of lawsuits relating to the loss of 
accreditation, including a federal suit against the chiropractic accrediting 
agency that revoked its standing.
That suit resulted in a federal court decision restoring the university's 
chiropractic accreditation, pending the outcome of the case.
"This [decision] is an extremely important step because it validates everything 
I've said as to why these should be joined as a class action," the students' 
attorney, Joseph Hoffman, said Monday. "The sheer volume of students would 
absolutely clog the court system. The other thing is they all have common 
damages."
University spokesman Will Hurst had no comment on the ruling.
The lawsuit was filed in Fulton County, where some of the trustees live, 
because Hoffman worried that the Cobb County courts might show favoritism to 
the university, he said.