The Scion Group, the Chicago-based student housing operator, has been named in a settled California consumer class action, a federal wage-and-hour case, and an employment discrimination suit, has itself sued a contractor over construction defects at a Louisiana property, and has generated more than a hundred consumer complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau. A Scion Group lawsuit search turns up a mix of tenant-side and employee-side claims across several states, most resolved by settlement or voluntary dismissal rather than by trial.
Respass Class Action in California
The largest known case against the company is Respass v. The Scion Group, LLC, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court in August 2020 and classified as a consumer credit matter.1GovInfo. Respass v. The Scion Group LLC, 2:20-cv-02307 Scion removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in November 2020, where it received case number 2:20-CV-02307.
The parties mediated the case with Jeffrey Krivis on June 22, 2021, and reached a settlement.2GovInfo. Respass v. The Scion Group LLC, Order Remanding Action They stipulated to send the case back to state court for approval, and the federal court remanded on September 6, 2022. Sacramento County Superior Court granted final approval on August 23, 2023. ILYM Group, Inc. administers the settlement and maintains a page where class members can request check reissues or update their mailing addresses.3ILYM Group. The Scion Group Settlement
The total settlement amount, the class definition, and the specific consumer credit conduct at issue are not reflected in the publicly available court records reviewed for this article.
Burton Overtime Case Under the FLSA
In March 2023, a maintenance supervisor named Jason Burton sued The Scion Group in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Burton alleged that the company misclassified staff as exempt and failed to pay overtime owed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and he filed the complaint as a proposed collective action so that similarly situated employees could opt in.4Law360. Burton v. The Scion Group LLC
No one else joined, and the case moved forward as Burton’s individual claim. On September 15, 2023, Judge Jeremy C. Daniel approved the settlement between Burton and Scion as “fair and reasonable” given the compensation offered and the risks and costs of continued litigation, and dismissed the case with prejudice.5CourtListener. Burton v. The Scion Group LLC, 1:23-cv-01315 The settlement amount is not public.
Castillo Employment Discrimination Case
Elysha Castillo filed a class action complaint against Scion in Riverside County Superior Court in April 2023, alleging employment discrimination. Scion removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California a month later. Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha found that the company had not shown the amount in controversy cleared the federal threshold, remanded the case to state court on August 23, 2023, and denied Scion’s motion to compel arbitration as moot.6CourtListener. Elysha Castillo v. The Scion Group LLC, 5:23-cv-00957
Once back in Riverside County, the case ended quickly. Castillo filed a request for voluntary dismissal on November 27, 2023, and the court closed the matter without arbitration or trial.7UniCourt. Castillo v. The Scion Group LLC The specific allegations and the reason for the dismissal are not detailed in available records.
Construction Defect Suit at University House Near LSU
Not every case names Scion as the defendant. In 2018, the company sued LMK Baton Rouge Construction, the builder of its University House complex near Louisiana State University, in Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court. Scion alleged “substantial defects in workmanship and construction,” including pervasive leaking, mechanical failures, and microbial growth, and said the builder’s work “significantly deviated from the project plans.” The company reported spending $3.2 million on repairs with more expected, and it halted new leases at the complex.8WAFB. Complex Near LSU Halts Leases, Cites Substantial Defects The outcome is not reflected in available reporting.
University House Austin Overbooking Settlement
A smaller consumer dispute arose in Austin, Texas, in 2018, when the University House complex filled every lease for the upcoming school year in less than a week and ended up overbooked. Amy Bennett, a Scion regional manager of operations, called it an “honest error.” University of Texas student Rylan Maksoud, whose lease was terminated, said the “mutual termination” agreement was not truly mutual and that he had little practical choice but to sign it and lose the housing.
Maksoud sued under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, initially seeking $7,722 based on the statute’s treble damages provision. He also built a website about his experience and said the complex tried to pay him to take it down. The case reached a jury trial at the Travis County Courthouse, but no witnesses testified and no deliberations took place; it settled for $4,500, which Maksoud described as “a compromise.”9The Daily Texan. Lawsuit Against University House Ends With $4,500 Settlement
Tenant Complaints Filed With the BBB
Outside formal litigation, complaints against Scion follow a consistent shape. Better Business Bureau records for the Chicago headquarters show 127 complaints filed in the three years preceding mid-2026, with 45 closed in the most recent 12-month window. The company is not BBB accredited.10BBB. The Scion Group LLC Complaints (Chicago) A separate profile for the Tempe, Arizona office lists 10 complaints in three years, seven of them unanswered.11BBB. The Scion Group Complaints (Tempe)
Four themes recur:
- Disputed charges sent to collections and reported to credit bureaus. One tenant reported a $10,417 charge sent to collections for a unit they said they had never occupied. Another disputed a $400 charge for pre-existing damage that was escalated to collections without written notice.
- Billing irregularities, including unauthorized lease renewals, failure to honor rent concessions, utility bills as high as $1,200 in a single month, and refund delays exceeding a year after lease cancellations.
- Habitability problems, including flooding, water leaks, mold, pest infestations, broken amenities, and shared ventilation issues. Some tenants said maintenance requests were deleted from the property’s system.
- Communication failures, including dropped transfers, ignored voicemails, and reliance on automated systems even for after-hours emergencies.
Several complainants said the company directed them to a “customer advocate” or to legal counsel for private communication, which they described as opaque and unresolved.10BBB. The Scion Group LLC Complaints (Chicago)
Who The Scion Group Is
The company was founded in 1999 by brothers Rob Bronstein, a former commercial lease broker, and Eric Bronstein, a former corporate lawyer. It started in Rob’s spare bedroom and reached $10 billion in assets under management by 2024. As of that year, Scion described itself as the world’s largest owner and operator of student housing, with more than 105,000 beds across 161 properties in 89 markets.12The Scion Group. History It is headquartered at 401 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago and operates properties under brand names including Alight, Lark, Redpoint, and Ion.13The Scion Group. The Scion Group If you are dealing with a lease from one of those brands, the counterparty behind the leasing office is Scion.
If you believe you are a class member in the Respass settlement and need a check reissued or an address updated, the administrator is ILYM Group.3ILYM Group. The Scion Group Settlement For a current billing or habitability dispute, the BBB complaint files show that written notice, documentation of pre-existing conditions, and prompt written disputes of any collection notice are the points where tenants most often lose ground.