In what appears to be the first lawsuit regarding California’s troubled February bar exam, three test takers filed a claim on Thursday claiming Meazure Learning, the exam vendor, failed to deliver a working test platform despite providing plenty of notice of technological issues. Unspecified damages are sought from Meazure Learning in the proposed federal class action, which opens a new tab. The California State Bar is not listed as a defendant. According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, “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 because of the complete technical breakdown that Meazure caused.” Although it’s unknown how many were affected, examinees stated that Meazure Learning’s servers experienced multiple failures on Wednesday in addition to a number of connectivity and functioning problems on Tuesday. This week, some 4,600 people were expected to take the two-day test.
A request for comment on Friday was not immediately answered by a representative of Meazure Learning. Bar examinees have the right to file a lawsuit, according to state bar general counsel Ellin Davtyan, whose organization “will evaluate and respond to the merits of any such legal claims and actions, as appropriate.” The plaintiffs are being represented by Katherine Aizpuru, a partner at Tycko & Zavareei Washington, located in Washington, D.C. Aizpuru would not comment on the exclusion of the state bar from the list of defendants. According to the Eleventh Amendment, courts have typically decided that the state bar is immune from federal litigation since it is a state government body. Located in Birmingham, Alabama, Meazure Learning claims to be the “largest and most experienced remote proctoring operation in the market” with over 1,500 test centers spread over 115 nations. In 2020, the testing firms ProctorU and Yardstick merged to establish Meazure.
After assessing other online testing providers, the state bar inked a $4.1 million deal with Meazure in September to administer its bar exam in February and July. Additionally, on Thursday, the state bar postponed its scheduled retake of the bar exam for test takers who experienced technical difficulties this week from March 3 and March 4 to March 18 and 19. An online leak of an essay question necessitated revisions to the retake’s substance, according to a Thursday night email from the state bar announcing the opening of a new tab to applicants. The state bar stated that it is looking into the leak’s perpetrators and that anyone found guilty could lose their previously obtained or pending positive moral character assessment. California’s hybrid, two-day in-person and remote exam, which does not include any elements of the national bar exam and has been used for decades, made its premiere on February 25 and 26. The goal of that transition was to save the state bar up to $3.8 million a year, but test takers have encountered numerous issues, ranging from trouble registering for in-person testing venues to extensive technical issues during the exam.
According to the state bar, some test takers had non-functional functionality or issues with proctors’ oversight, while others were unable to log in at all. About 5,600 people registered for the test, but in the days before the test, at least 964 of them withdrew. In addition to offering complete refunds to those had withdrawn, the bar stated that anyone who did not pass the February exam might repeat it in July for free. In an email sent to test takers on Thursday, the state bar stated that it is consulting with “other stakeholders” and will require a few more days to “finalize any other remediation plans,” including score changes. On Thursday, several law deans urged the California Supreme Court, which is in charge of the state bar’s attorney admissions process, to step in on behalf of the February bar.