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- Nathan Barbieri and Nolan Radomski, who were second-year students in the business school, filed their lawsuit in federal court in May 2023.
- A federal judge dismissed their lawsuit on July 29, 2025, ruling they did not have standing to sue and noting that each had the subscription fee refunded.
GRAND RAPIDS — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from 2023 against three Michigan State University officials over a fee required for a business school class.
Then-students Nathan Barbieri and Nolan Radomski sued in federal court in Grand Rapids after business school professor Amy Wisner required that they and other students in the mandatory class pay $99 to subscribe to The Rebellion Community, which federal court records describe as an “online global learning platform controlled and operated” by Wisner.
The lawsuit claimed that “Wisner used the funds for her own political speech and political agenda” – including Planned Parenthood – which Barbieri and Radomski disagreed with, and therefore the required subscription fee violated their First Amendment rights.
In a 20-page order dismissing the lawsuit, Judge Paul Maloney ruled that Barbieri and Radomski lacked standing to sue because they failed to show “ongoing or likely future harm,” among other procedural legal issues, and that the sovereign immunity that covers the university employees bars monetary damages if they were acting in their official capacities. Maloney also noted that Barbieri and Radomski had their $99 fee refunded.
Wisner, interim university Provost Thomas Jeitschko and Judith Whipple, who was then the interim business school dean, were named as defendants.
In a statement, Tyson Langhofer, an attorney for Barbieri and Radomski, said they’re disappointed in the ruling.
“University professors can’t force students to finance and support political advocacy groups that express messages they disagree with,” he said. “Thus, no student should be compelled to pay membership fees to organizations that violate his or her religious beliefs for the sake of earning a degree.”
An attorney for Wisner did not return messages seeking comment. MSU spokeswoman Amber McCann declined to comment.
It’s unclear if Wisner is still an MSU professor and whether The Rebellion Community is still active. McCann did not answer a question from the State Journal about her status.
Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at mjmencarini@lsj.com.