Lawsuits attack Bridgepoint's automatic dialing pitches

On December 3, a suit was filed in Arizona federal court charging that Bridgepoint Education is violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by using an automatic dialing system to send prerecorded messages to sales prospects. Similar suits were filed in October in federal court in San Diego and the Northern District of Ohio.

On December 9, Bridgepoint shareholders asked the federal Ninth Circuit appellate court to review the dismissal of a suit stating that a 2013 tender offer between Wall Street's Warburg Pincus, which controls the company, and Bridgepoint unfairly lined Warburg's pockets. The suit had been thrown out in in October by San Diego federal Judge Jeffrey Y. Miller.

Bridgepoint still faces numerous legal challenges. It is under investigation of New York, North Carolina, California, and Massachusetts and has paid $7.25 million to the Iowa attorney general. The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at documents related to the company's financial restatements of 2011 through 2013. A Department of Education Office of Inspector General probe is still underway, according to the company's most recent quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are also several shareholder complaints pending.