FORT WORTH - A lawsuit filed earlier this week is asserting that the U.S. Department of Education violated the Administrative Procedure Act by promulgating a Debt Forgiveness Program behind closed doors.
The lawsuit was brought by Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor and filed on Oct. 10 in the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas.
The lawsuit accuses the Department of Education of “flagrantly” violating the APA’s notice-and-comment requirements.
“Behind closed doors, the Department promulgated a new Debt Forgiveness Program that will affect tens of millions of Americans and cost more than 400 billion dollars,” the lawsuit states. “Instead of providing notice and seeking comment from the public, the Department hammered out the critical details of the Program in secret and with an eye toward securing debt forgiveness in time for the November election.”
According to the suit, the Department made numerous arbitrary decisions about the program, including which individuals will receive debt forgiveness, how much of their debt will be forgiven, and which types of debt will qualify for the Program.
“The result of this arbitrariness is predictable: some will benefit handsomely, some will be shortchanged, and others will be left out entirely,” the suit states. “Plaintiffs are just a few of the millions of Americans who are being harmed by the Department’s arbitrary decisionmaking.”
The suit states that Brown does not qualify for debt forgiveness because the program does not cover commercially held loans that are not in default, and Taylor does not qualify for the full amount of debt forgiveness because he did not receive a Pell Grant when he was in college.
“If the Department is going to pursue debt forgiveness, Plaintiffs believe that their student loan debt should be forgiven too,” the suit states. “Ms. Brown believes it is irrational, arbitrary, and unfair to exclude her from the Program because her federal student loans are commercially held and not in default.
“Mr. Taylor believes that it is irrational, arbitrary, and unfair to calculate the amount of debt forgiveness he receives based on the financial circumstances of his parents many years ago.”
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the program violates the APA and seek to enjoin the defendants from enforcing, applying, or implementing the program anywhere within the Department’s jurisdiction.
The plaintiffs are represented by Consovoy McCarthy PLLC.
Case No. 4:22-cv-00908-O