Russ v. U.S. Dept. Of Educ.

364 F. Supp. 3d 1009
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nebraska
DecidedJune 27, 2018
Docket8:17CV198
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 364 F. Supp. 3d 1009 (Russ v. U.S. Dept. Of Educ.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nebraska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Russ v. U.S. Dept. Of Educ., 364 F. Supp. 3d 1009 (D. Neb. 2018).

Opinion

Joseph F. Bataillon, Senior United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on the Defendants' motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). Filing No. 43 and Filing No. 46. This case involves an action brought generally under the Consumer Credit Protection Act ("CCPA")1 as well as the Administrative Procedures Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. § 701. Plaintiff Lisa Russ ("Russ") requests judicial review of the Secretary of Education's final decision that she is responsible for consolidated student loan debt. She asserts this debt was the result of identity theft. Russ asserts that the United States Department of Education ("the Department") fraudulently and improperly denied her identify theft claim, as *1012well as fraudulently determined that she is obligated to pay her student loan. Defendants contend that Russ's complaint should be dismissed, for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted as the fraud claim lacks sufficient specificity, and that the case should be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction due to the Department's sovereign immunity.

I. BACKGROUND

Lisa Russ was married to Kevin W. Russ in 1994.2 In either 1995 or 1996, Lisa Russ and Kevin Russ consolidated their undergraduate student loans. In 2000, they divorced. Under their divorce decree, Kevin Russ was responsible for the consolidated student loans totaling approximately $ 55,000-$ 25,000 of which belonged to Lisa Russ. During her divorce proceedings, Lisa Russ applied for and received student loans for a master's degree program. Sometime after her divorce Lisa Russ received a past due notice from a student loan servicer, Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation and Affiliates ("Great Lakes"). The notice showed a balance for the spousal consolidation loan exceeding $ 121,000.

Russ inquired with both Great Lakes and the Department regarding the past due loan. Great Lakes told Russ that the loan account information was accessible on Studentloans.gov and that if the website did not list the loan, then she was not responsible for it. Studenloans.gov did not list the $ 121,000 loan. She also contacted the Department, providing the loan identification number Great Lakes had given her. Based on this identification number, the only loan records the Department possessed were from her master's degree program. Later, Russ attempted to refinance some loans but was unsuccessful due to her poor credit report based on the delinquent student loans. She alleges that Great Lakes and the Department are responsible for these negative reports on her credit.

After subsequent inquiries into Great Lakes' loan document records by Russ, it provided her with a 1999 promissory note and a 2012 unemployment request. Russ further alleges that these forms are fraudulent and that her identity was stolen. In January 2016, she filed an identity theft report with the Saunders County Sheriff's Department, which sent a subpoena to Great Lakes in February 2016. By September 2016, Great Lakes had yet to respond. She also contacted the Department, which issued a final decision on March 22, 2017, denying Russ's identity theft claim.

On August 22, 2017, Russ filed an amended complaint alleging her inability to obtain loan refinancing due to her damaged credit because of Defendants' failure to clarify her loan obligations. Accordingly, she claims defendants violated the CCPA, including FDCPA and FCRA subchapters, by continuing to seek loan collection payments in error. Moreover, she claims Defendants acted fraudulently by denying her identity theft claim, alleging the Department's denial is incorrect. As a result, Russ is requesting judicial review of the Department's final decision to deny her identity theft claim; injunctive relief enjoining Defendants from proceeding on the Department's decision; declaratory relief that she is not obligated to Great Lakes; declaratory relief that Great Lakes is civilly liable for its CCPA violations; declaratory relief that Defendants were negligent pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681o ; declaratory relief that Defendants acted fraudulently; restoration of her credit; and attorney's fees, costs, and litigation expenses. The Department filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and both Defendants filed a motion to dismiss pursuant *1013to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted. The parties have filed briefs in support, Filing No. 45 and Filing No. 48 and in opposition, Filing No. 51.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)

Under the Federal Rules, a complaint must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) ; Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). "Specific facts are not necessary; the statement need only 'give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.' " Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). In order to survive a motion to dismiss under, Fed. R. Civ. P. 12

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Bluebook (online)
364 F. Supp. 3d 1009, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/russ-v-us-dept-of-educ-ned-2018.