Pele v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency

13 F. Supp. 3d 518, 2014 WL 1329409, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46370
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedApril 2, 2014
DocketNo. 1:13cv1531 (JCC/TRJ)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 13 F. Supp. 3d 518 (Pele v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pele v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, 13 F. Supp. 3d 518, 2014 WL 1329409, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46370 (E.D. Va. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JAMES C. CACHERIS, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s (“Defendant” or “PHEAA”) Motion to Dismiss based on Eleventh Amendment. [Dkt. 12.] For the following reasons the Court will deny Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.

I. Background

This case arises out of alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.

A. Factual Background

Plaintiff Lee Pele (“Plaintiff’ or “Pele”) is a resident and citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Am. Compl. ¶ 2.) Defendant PHEAA is a student loan servicing company that furnishes information to consumer reporting agencies as contemplated by the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681-s-2(a-b). (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 3.)

Pele alleges that he received federal student loans issued under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1071-1087.4. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 5, 6.) Pele is a “person” and “consumer” as defined by the FCRA at 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(b) and (c). (Am. Compl. ¶ 2.) Pele alleges that PHEAA acted as the loan servicer for his student loans.

Pele alleges that PHEAA placed on his credit file defaulted student loans that “he never authorized, initiated, received the proceeds or guaranteed.” (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 5, 6.) In February 2013, Pele began receiving collection calls from a debt collector called Windham Professionals (‘Windham”) seeking to collect over $137,000.00 in defaulted student loans. (Am. Compl. ¶ 7.) According to Windham’s collector, Pele had been a co-signer on the loans at issue. (Am. Compl. ¶ 8.) Pele did not initiate, guaranty or receive any benefit from these loans. (Am. Compl. ¶ 7.)

On March 19, 2013, Pele sent credit dispute letters to the credit reporting agencies TransUnion, Equifax and Experi-an. (Am. Compl. ¶ 14.) As a result of these letters, four Automated Credit Dispute Verifications (“ACDV”) were sent to PHEAA by the credit reporting agencies. (Am. Compl. ¶ 21.) On April 5, 2012, PHEAA responded to all four ACDVs “by modifying, but not deleting, the information” from Plaintiffs credit file. (Am. Compl. ¶ 24.) Plaintiff alleges that PHEAA “continued to attribute the debts to Mr. Pele to the credit reporting agencies.” (Id.)

Plaintiff alleges that Defendant has both negligently and willfully violated the FCRA in its response to the ACDVs. (Am. Compl. ¶ 25.) First, Plaintiff alleges that PHEAA has no procedure in place to investigate a consumer’s claim of identity theft. (Id.) Second, Plaintiff alleges that PHEAA did not properly train its employ[521]*521ees on investigating identity theft disputes or with FCRA compliance. (Id.)

According to the Amended Complaint, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania established PHEAA in order to aid in the establishment of student loans for its residents. (Am. Compl. ¶ 40.) PHEAA’s enabling statute, 24 Pa. Stat. § 5104, sets out the power of PHEAA’s board of directors. (Am. Compl. ¶ 41.) PHEAA also operates under the trade names American Education Services (“AES”) and Fed. Loan Servicing (“FLS”). (Am Compl. ¶ 42.) AES and FLS compete nationally for work servicing and collecting on student loans made in states other than Pennsylvania, and by the federal government for residents of states other than Pennsylvania. (Id.)

PHEAA entered into contracts with the credit reporting agencies (“CRA”) Expelí-an, TransUnion and Equifax. According to Plaintiff, in order to submit credit-reporting data to the reporting agencies, PHEAA was obligated to agree that it would abide by the FCRA and the rules and regulations of the CRAs. (Am. Compl. ¶ 43.)

B. Procedural Background

On December 13, 2018, Plaintiff filed his Complaint against PHEAA, alleging violations of the FCRA. [Dkt. 1.] On January 13, 2014, Defendant filed its Motion to Dismiss Based on Eleventh Amendment and accompanying memorandum. [Dkts. 4-5.] On February 2, 2014, Plaintiff filed his Amended Complaint. [Dkt. 8.] In light of the Amended Complaint, on February 6, 2014, the Court denied as moot Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. [Dkt. 9.]

On February 21, 2014, Defendant filed its Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint and accompanying memorandum. [Dkts. 12-13.] Plaintiff filed his opposition on March 7, 2014. [Dkt. 15.] Defendant filed its response on March 13, 2014. [Dkt. 16.]

Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is before the Court.

II. Standard of Review

Defendant filed its Motion to Dismiss Based on Eleventh Amendment Immunity pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has not resolved “whether a dismissal on Eleventh Amendment immunity grounds is a dismissal for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) or a dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1).” Andrews v. Daw, 201 F.3d 521, 525 n. 2 (4th Cir.2000). “The recent trend, however, appears to treat Eleventh Amendment immunity motions under Rule 12(b)(1).” Skaggs v. W. Reg’l Jail, No. CIV. A. 3:13-3293, 2014 WL 66645, at *4 (S.D.W.Va. Jan. 8, 2014) (citations omitted).

To the extent that Eleventh Amendment immunity sounds in subject matter jurisdiction, this would suggest that the burden at this stage falls on the plaintiff because “it is generally a plaintiff’s burden to demonstrate subject matter jurisdiction.” Woods v. Rondout Valley Cent. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 466 F.3d 232, 237 (2nd Cir.2006); see also Adams v. Bain, 697 F.2d 1213, 1219 (4th Cir.1982); Johnson v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., 682 F.Supp.2d 560, 566 (E.D.Va.2009). “To the extent, however, that Eleventh Amendment immunity is viewed as akin to an affirmative defense that a state may assert or waive at its discretion, the burden would appear to fall on the defendant.” Woods, 466 F.3d at 237.

The Fourth Circuit has not specifically ruled on this question. In United States ex rel. Oberg v. Pa. Higher Educ. Assistance Agency, 745 F.3d 131 (4th Cir.2014) [522]*522(“Oberg II”), however, the court noted that “arm-of-the-state status may well constitute an affirmative defense in the ... Eleventh Amendment context....” Oberg II, 745 F.3d at 136. In his opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part in Oberg II,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Shipley v. Disney, Jr.
D. Maryland, 2022
Omeish v. Kincaid
E.D. Virginia, 2021
Williams v. Big Picture Loans, LLC
329 F. Supp. 3d 248 (E.D. Virginia, 2018)
Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. McAuliffe
147 F. Supp. 3d 462 (W.D. Virginia, 2015)
Brown v. Transurban USA, Inc.
144 F. Supp. 3d 809 (E.D. Virginia, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
13 F. Supp. 3d 518, 2014 WL 1329409, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46370, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pele-v-pennsylvania-higher-education-assistance-agency-vaed-2014.