Sweet

INTRODUCTION

20 In this putative class action arising under the Higher Education Act and the APA, 21 22 plaintiffs move for class certification. For the reasons stated below, the motion is GRANTED.

STATEMENT

23 Many for-profit colleges have left numerous students saddled with debt. Certain of 24 these schools used fraudulent tactics to enroll students, such as inflating job placement 25 numbers. Members of the instant putative class — including plaintiffs Theresa Sweet, Chenelle 26 Archibald, Daniel Deegan, Samuel Hood, Tresa Apodaca, Alicia Davis, and Jessica Jacobson 27 — sought to cancel their federal student loans with defendant United States Department of 28 1 Education under the “borrower defense” rule, which allows defrauded students to apply for loan 2 forgiveness based on their school’s misconduct. 3 Plaintiffs allege that since June 2018, the Department has arbitrarily and capriciously 4 stonewalled (and continues to stonewall) the relief process with its “blanket refusal” to process 5 their borrower claims. In June 2019, they brought the instant putative class action, seeking to 6 compel the Department to at least begin deciding applications again. …