TIMELINE & FAQ – FOR SWEET v. CARDONA
Here is a running list of everything that has a happened with Sweet v. Cardona since the fairness hearing in Nov. 2022
Nov. 16, 2022 – The court granted final approval of the settlement.
January 13, 2023: Three of the intervening schools filed notices of appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and moved the district court to stay the settlement pending their appeal.
February 24, 2023: The district court denied the motion to stay the settlement pending appeal. Meaning the settlement can move forward.
February 28, 2023: Forgiveness Letters started going out to the FULL CLASS via email from the Department of Education.
Apr 04, 2023: The three intervening schools petition the Supreme Court to stop the settlement.
Apr 06 2023: 20 states AG filed an Amicus Brief backing the intervening schools. These states include: Ohio, Utah, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming filed.
April 13, 2023: The Supreme Court denied intervenors’ petition attempting to stop settlement relief.
May 3, 2023: Intervenors have filed their opening brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This *does not* stop settlement relief from moving forward for all full class and post class applicants.
May 24, 2023: Two House committees will investigate Education Department over Sweet v. Cardona settlement. This is spearheaded by Rep. Virginia Foxx whose campaign funds came mostly from the for-profit industry.
June 13, 2023: If you tried to apply for BDTR *before* June 22, 2022 but were unable to because the website kept crashing and you *also* filled out the Google Doc Survey from PPSL about this issue, please be on the lookout for an email from PPSL asking you for more details. Be sure to check your spam and junk mail. They need action on your part ASAP in response to the email. There may be a chance that this can be remedied for you to get you into the Full Class. See this reddit post for further info: If you tried to file before June 22, 2022 but were unable to do so due to technical issues on the website and you have *not* filled out the survey mentioned above, PLEASE DO NOT WAIT- FILL IT OUT NOW.
June 22, 2022: Marks one year from the settlement.
June 23, 2023: The DOJ/Dept of Ed has been granted an extension on their opposition brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. PPSL/DOJ/Dept of Ed briefs are now due on Aug 3, 2023. Intervenor reply briefs are due on August 24, 2023.
THE LATEST:
The three schools are still working their way through the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can follow their appeals here:
CourtListner: Theresa Sweet v. Everglades College, Inc (23-15049)
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BorrowerDefense
FaceBook: /Borrower Defense- Sweet vs Cardona
F.A.Q
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE SETTLEMENT?
Full Class: will receive full forgiveness of their federal loans, any ‘direct loan’ payments made will be refunded within one year of Jan. 23, 2023.
Post Class: Will have their BDTR applications reviewed within three years of Jan. 2023.
- If you are post class please see next steps below on our group BDTR application.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M FULL CLASS, POST CLASS OR NO CLASS?
Full Class: You filed for BDTR before June 22, 2022
Post Class: You filed for BDTR between June 22, 2022 and Nov. 16, 2022
No Class: You filed for BDTR after Nov. 16, 2022
HOW DO I BECOME A PART OF THE CLASS?
You can’t, but if you have not yet filed for Borrower Defense to Repayment Please do ASAP.
DOES THIS COVER MY PRIVATE LOANS?
No this is only for federal loans, however we are currently working on our next steps which will include private loans.
WILL MY FFEL BE REFUNDED?
This is tricky, mostly the answer will be no. Only loans paid directly through the DOE as a direct loan will be refunded. However, there are a small subset of FFELP borrowers who have received refunds. You will have to call your servicer to find out if you are entitled to a refund.
If you don’t know what type of loans you have I recommend logging into studentaid.gov
I’M FULL CLASS, BUT STILL WAITING, SHOULD I BE WORRIED?
No, this is a complicated process with many different types of loans and servicers. It’s going to take time. Some of us old school Brookies that filed back in 2015 are still waiting. They have a year from January to complete. If you did not ask for administrative forbearance and worried about going back into repayment, you can request it at any time. Just call your servicer or the BDTR hotline: 855-279-6207
WHAT IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
Head over to PPSL.org they have an extensive list of questions and answers.