Daniel v. Navient Solutions, LLC
Daniel v. Navient Solutions, LLC
Opinion of the Court
Before the Court is Defendant Navient Solutions, LLC's Motion to Strike Class Allegations and to Dismiss and Incorporated Memorandum of Law (Doc. 28), Plaintiffs Edwing D. Daniel, William Cottrill, Brooke Padgett, Michael Fanella, and Elaine Lareina's Response in Opposition (Doc. 37), and Defendant's Reply to the Response (Doc. 56). The Court, having carefully considered the parties' submissions, finds that the Motion is due to be denied.
I FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs are a group of individuals working in public interest occupations who allegedly relied on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to forgive their student loans. All of the Plaintiffs used Defendant Navient Solutions LLC to service their student loans. Defendant is the largest student loan servicer in the United States and services more than 12 million borrowers. Defendant's responsibilities as a student loan servicer include informing borrowers about available repayment plans and communicating with borrowers about the repayment of their loans.
Plaintiffs allege that they relied on incorrect information and recommendations given to them by Defendant regarding their eligibility for student loan forgiveness under the PSLF, resulting in their mistaken belief that they were eligible for *1322the PSLF program. Plaintiffs filed this Class Action Complaint against Defendant, on behalf of themselves and a proposed class of similarly-situated loan borrowers, for breach of fiduciary duty (Count I), negligence (Count II), unjust enrichment (Count III), breach of implied-in-law contract (Count IV), violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act,
II. MOTION TO STRIKE
Defendant moves to strike Plaintiffs' class action allegations, arguing that Plaintiffs' proposed national class and state subclasses do not satisfy the requirements of Rule 23, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Specifically, Defendant argues that Plaintiffs will fail to satisfy the commonality, predominance, and superiority requirements of Rule 23 because determining its liability "will require a highly fact-intensive and individualized analysis of the interactions that [Navient] had with hundreds of thousands of its borrowers." (Doc. 28, p. 12). Defendant relies in large part on Rule 23(c)(1), which requires the Court "[a]t an early practicable time after a person sues or is sued as a class representative" to "determine by order whether to certify the action as a class action." Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(1). (Doc. 28, p. 10). Defendant, however, overlooks the fact that "on a motion to strike pursuant to Rule 23, the Rule 23 factors should be viewed through the lens of the Rule 12(f) standard for motions to strike." DeJesus v. Cigna Corp. ,
Defendant's motion necessarily fails when the Rule 12(f) standard is applied. In their First Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs adequately plead each of the pertinent requirements to maintain a Rule 23(b)(3) class action-numerosity, commonality, typicality, adequacy, predominance, and superiority-and the factual basis for asserting each requirement will be met at the class certification stage. (Doc. 19, pp. 4-7). Moreover, as Plaintiffs argue, Defendant's assertion that Plaintiffs will fail to meet particular Rule 23 requirements calls for a premature analysis by this Court into the viability of class certification. An order on class certification is premature prior to discovery and the parties having an opportunity to thoroughly brief the Rule 23 requirements. See, e.g., Fosbrink v. Area Wide Protective, Inc. ,
III. MOTION TO DISMISS
A. Preemption
Defendant also argues that the Amended Complaint should be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, based on preemption by the Higher Education Act ("HEA"). Defendant asserts that Plaintiffs' claims are barred by both express preemption and conflict preemption. In support of their express preemption argument, Defendant argues that 20 U.S.C. § 1098g has been interpreted as requiring dismissal of state law claims against student loan servicers for alleged misrepresentation or omissions of fact. Defendant argues that Plaintiffs' state law claims are expressly preempted by the HEA inasmuch as they seek to impose additional disclosure requirements on Defendant. Defendant further argues that Plaintiffs' claims are barred by conflict preemption because allowing individual, state-law causes of action is inconsistent with Congress's intention to create a uniform structure for servicing Direct Loans. Defendant maintains that allowing state-law causes of action would create a significant obstacle to implementation of the HEA's statutory purpose and the related regulatory scheme, but offers no evidence or case law to support its argument.
Plaintiffs' causes of action are not preempted by either express or conflict preemption. Defendants rely upon "express preemption, where Congress has expressly preempted local law," and "conflict preemption, where local law conflicts with federal law such that it is impossible for a party to comply with both or the local law is an obstacle to the achievement of such objectives." New York SMSA Ltd. P'ship v. Town of Clarkstown ,
Defendant's preemption argument must fail. There is a strong presumption against *1324preemption for matters that have typically been left to the States, and consumer protection is one of those traditionally state-regulated matters. See California v. ARC Am. Corp. ,
Additionally, there is no reason to believe that Congress enacted 20 U.S.C. § 1098g with the intention of preempting claims such as the ones plaintiffs are asserting. 20 U.S.C. § 1098g reads as follows: "Loans made, insured, or guaranteed pursuant to a program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall not be subject to any disclosure requirements of any State law." 20 U.S.C. § 1098g (1982). The Eleventh Circuit has recognized that a claim is conflict preempted by the HEA only if: (1) it is not possible to comply with both the HEA and state law; or (2) complying with state law would interfere with accomplishing the objectives of the HEA. Cliff v. Payco Gen. Am. Credits, Inc. ,
Because it is possible for Defendant to comply with both the HEA and state law, and complying with state law would not interfere with accomplishing the objectives of the HEA of making, providing, and assisting with student loans, state law is not preempted by the HEA. Further, Defendant provides no rationale for how allowing Plaintiffs to assert their state-law causes of action would interfere with the HEA's objectives, besides stating that it may be counterproductive to the HEA's goal of creating a uniform structure for servicing Direct Loans. Uniformity, however, is not one of Congress's expressed goals in enacting the HEA, and broadening the scope of the preemption statute would not rest upon a "fair understanding of congressional purpose." Cipollone ,
B. Failure to State a Claim
As an alternative to preemption, Defendant seeks dismissal of the complaint *1325pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a cause of action. Defendant argues that the claim of breach of fiduciary duty fails because Defendant's relationship with Plaintiffs was that of an arm's-length loan servicer, rather than a fiduciary counselor. Defendant asserts that the negligence claim also fails because Defendant owed Plaintiffs no duty of care to provide financial advice regarding Plaintiffs' student loan repayment obligations. Finally, Defendant contends that Plaintiffs' claims of unjust enrichment and breach of implied-in-law contract must be dismissed as duplicative and because Plaintiffs have not, and cannot, plead any facts to support their contention that they somehow conferred a benefit upon Defendant through its servicing of their loans.
In deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the district court is required to view the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Murphy v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. ,
When the Complaint is viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, it is clear that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss must be denied. Regarding, Plaintiffs' cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty, whether special circumstances exist that gave rise to such a relationship is a factual question that should not be resolved on a motion to dismiss. Yaffa v. SunSouth Bank ,
As for Plaintiffs' negligence claim, Florida law requires a plaintiff to "establish that the defendant owed a duty, that the defendant breached that duty, and that this breach caused the plaintiff damages." Chang v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ,
With respect to Plaintiffs' alternative causes of action for unjust enrichment and breach of implied-in-law contract, summary judgment, rather than a motion to dismiss, is the proper vehicle for resolution *1326if the claims ultimately prove to be duplicative. Krush Commn's, LLC v. Network Enhanced Telecom, LLP ,
ACCORDINGLY , it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED :
Defendant Navient Solutions, LLC's Motion to Strike Class Allegations and to Dismiss (Doc. 28) is DENIED .
DONE AND ORDERED at Tampa, Florida, this 25th day of June, 2018.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Edwing D. DANIEL, William Cottrill, Brooke Padgett, Michael Fanella, James Morgan, and Elaine Lareina v. NAVIENT SOLUTIONS, LLC
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published