Student Loan Fund of Idaho, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Education

In this appeal, we are asked to interpret a difficult contract and attempt to divine what the Congress meant in portions of *1157 the Higher Education Act (Act). The importance of the issues cannot be gainsaid, as they deal with loans to post-secondary students.

We suppose the complexity of the case is demonstrated by the fact that both parties appeal from the judgment of the district court. The Department of Education and Secretary of Education (together, Secretary) argue that the district court erred both in holding that the Secretary was in breach of his obligations to the Student Loan Fund of Idaho, Inc. (SLFI) and in interpreting the agreements entered between SLFI and the Secretary to allow the continuation of SLFI’s guaranty operations even after SLFI terminated the agreements and ceased to guarantee new loans. In the alternative, the Secretary argues that even if SLFI had limited contractual authority to continue its operations, the Secretary has removed this authority by making a “best interest” determination. Finally, the Secretary argues that the district court failed to afford proper deference to the applicable regulations, promulgated pursuant to the Secretary’s…