News
Judge Rejects Settlement, Fast-Tracks Student Debt Relief Class Action | Courthouse News Service
Finding strong indications of “bad faith” in the way Education Secretary Betsy DeVos denied 94% of student debt relief claims in recent months, a federal judge rejected a proposed settlement Monday night and fast-tracked a lawsuit over long delays in deciding borrower defense claims.
Judge Blasts DeVos’ Sweeping Denials of Student Loan Relief Claims as ‘Disturbingly Kafkaesque’ | Politico
A federal judge scrapped a settlement Tuesday over the Trump administration’s slow processing of loan forgiveness for borrowers who have accused their colleges of fraud, ruling that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos undermined the deal.
Judge Slams DeVos For Blanket Denials Of Student Loan Forgiveness, Cites “Irreparable Harm” To Borrowers | Forbes
A federal judge issued a scathing rebuke to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for issuing mass denials of student loan forgiveness applications. “The Secretary’s new perfunctory denial notices... contradict her original justification for delay, raise substantial questions under [federal law], and may impose irreparable harm upon the class of student-loan borrowers,” Judge William Alsup, of the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, wrote in his decision yesterday.
In New Ruling, Judge Denies Borrower Defense Settlement Over Department of Education’s “Perfunctory, Alarmingly-Curt Denials” | Press Release
A federal court issued a new ruling in the borrower defense case Sweet v. DeVos that shuts down a proposed settlement, raises the possibility of an injunction against the Department’s blanket borrower defense denials, and takes the unusual step of allowing plaintiffs to take depositions of officials from the Department of Education.
Update | Student Borrowers Speak Out in Unprecedented 500-Person Court Hearing on Borrower Defense
During a time when people have been more isolated than ever, student borrowers came together from across the country, gathering on Zoom for a remote hearing. They were there to share their views with the court about the proposed settlement in the borrower defense class action lawsuit, Sweet v. DeVos, in which the Department of Education agreed to decide on the more than 100,000 pending borrower defense applications within 18 months.
A Reckoning with Private Loan Cancellation: Jorge Villalba’s Quest for Full Loan Cancellation | Blog
Jorge Villalba was one of tens of thousands of students scammed by ITT and was left with a worthless degree and insurmountable debt in the form of both federal and private student loans. Now, after getting his federal loans discharged, he's fighting to get his private loans cancelled too.
Defrauded Students Slam DOE's Loan Relief 'Blanket Denial' | Law360
Student loan borrowers defrauded by "predatory" for-profit colleges and seeking relief from crippling debt delivered heartfelt pleas to a California federal judge during a settlement fairness hearing Thursday, seeking assurance that a U.S. Department of Education deal with 170,000 borrowers ends its "smothering blanket denial" of long-awaited loan forgiveness requests.
Student Borrowers to Judge: Department of Education Can’t be Trusted to Process Borrower Defense Claims Fairly | Press Release
A federal judge today heard from student borrowers at a fairness hearing on the proposed settlement between students and the United States Department of Education that forces the Department to process all pending borrower defense claims.
Defrauded Student Borrowers Tell Court: Dept. is Acting in Bad Faith, Breaching Settlement in Denials of Borrower Defense Claims | Press Release
Student borrowers filed a motion asking for final approval of a settlement that forces the Department to process all pending borrower defense claims, while also asking the judge to enforce the terms of the settlement. The borrowers argue that the Department has already breached the settlement agreement, finalized in April, by issuing cursory, blanket denials of nearly all of the borrower defense claims it has decided.
Statement on Senate Resolution to Cancel Student Debt | Press Release
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren proposed a Resolution calling on the President to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt for 43 million Americans. The Senators cite a Project on Predatory Student Lending legal analysis which outlines the President’s legal authority to direct the Secretary of Education to cancel student loan debt.