Fishman Haygood, Navient Reach Second Nationwide Settlement in Sweeping Private Student Loan Borrower Class Action

Fishman Haygood, LLP has reached its second nationwide settlement with Navient Solutions, LLC and Navient Credit Finance Corporation (“Navient”) that will result in approximately $182.4 million in debt relief for private student loan borrowers, as well as $16 million in cash compensation (Homaidan et al v. Navient Solutions, LLC et al). Settlement documents were filed by the plaintiffs in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York on July 21, 2023. Read more coverage on Law360.

As stated in the class action lawsuit, Navient and its agents refused to recognize the discharges of these private student loans to non-Title IV schools and programs and continued to collect on the loans even after borrowers obtained bankruptcy discharges. Navient allegedly called borrowers’ relatives and employers, sometimes multiple times a day.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth S. Stong granted preliminary approval of the Homaidan settlement during a hearing on July 28, 2023. Click here for more Law360 coverage.

This case is one of several brought and litigated by Fishman Haygood in various jurisdictions across the country. In June, the firm filed a Motion for Preliminary Approval in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska seeking approval in a similar case settlement; that settlement alone will result in approximately $54 million in debt relief for private student loan borrowers, as well as $28 million in cash compensation (Case 21-08023-TLS Woodard et al v. Navient Solutions, LLC et al). The Nebraska Bankruptcy Court had previously granted class certification for a class of borrowers encompassing the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, but Fishman Haygood and its co-counsel were ultimately able to broaden the settlement and secure relief for over 11,000 borrowers across the entire United States. Read more here.

The Fishman Haygood team was led by Jason Burge, Kaja Elmer, and Lara Richards. Attorneys from Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and Jones Swanson Huddell LLC serve as co-counsel to the plaintiffs.

Fishman Haygood represents both plaintiffs and defendants in class action and mass action litigation, both in Louisiana and across the nation. Click here for more information.