The Ministry of Economy Trace and Industry and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government inspected Nova’s Osaka head office and several schools in February for allegedly charging high contract cancellation fees and on suspicion that it had given the government false information about its cancellation policy.

At that time, the government warned Nova it could be forbidden from enrolling new students if officials found clear evidence of more legal violations.

At least eight lawsuits have been filed against Nova to get the company to pay refunds, and the rulings have all favored the plaintiffs, according to the plaintiff’s lawyer in Tuesday’s case.

In one of the cases, a woman argued that the information Nova provided about its cancellation policy was insufficient, claiming it was written in tiny characters in hard-to-understand language in the contract.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070404a1.html

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that major English school Nova Corp.’s method of settling early cancellations of its courses by using a higher unit price than when the contract was signed is illegal and violated the Specified Commercial Transaction Law.

The ruling followed a case brought by a 39-year-old man from Kita Ward, Tokyo, who tried to cancel a contract and demanded the company refund the 310,000 yen he said he was owed for classes he had not taken.

Presiding Justice Kohei Nasu ruled it is illegal to settle a contract by charging more for each unit taken than was agreed on when the contract was signed. He dismissed the appeal by Nova, and upheld and finalized the first and second rulings ordering the return of all the money demanded.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070404TDY01004.htm

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal filed by Nova Corp., saying the refund system of the nation’s largest English conversation school is invalid and violates the specified commercial transaction law.

The decision finalized the rulings of two lower courts that ordered Nova to refund about 310,000 yen to a former student, the full amount he was seeking.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200704040097.html