Stipulated Dismissal, State of Washington v. Cardona, No. 2:20-cv-00182 (E.D. Wash.), Doc. 81 (June 21, 2021)

Summary

Stipulated Dismissal Without Prejudice of First Amended Complaint in State of Washington v. Miguel Cardona, in his official capacity as Acting Secretary of the United States Department of Education, and the United States Department of Education, No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR, ECF No. 81, Eastern District of Washington, filed 06/21/21. It recounts that Washington challenged eligibility restrictions on emergency assistance grants for students under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds Program (HEERF), and that on May 14, 2021, the defendants published a Final Rule rescinding the interim final rule's restrictions. The parties stipulate that the action is dismissed without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41 and that all parties will bear their own fees and costs. It carries /s/ R. July Simpson for the plaintiff and /s/ Alexander V. Sverdlov for the defendants.

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“Stipulated Dismissal, State of Washington v. Cardona, No. 2:20-cv-00182 (E.D. Wash.), Doc. 81 (June 21, 2021).” Original at storage.courtlistener.com. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/dismiss-state-of-washington-v-devos-later-v-cardona-no-2-20-cv-00182-e-2c764a7845/, SHA-256 e049fe8783ea781ed680c7a9940b02023cf975bb5e42fe17afa8386417501c32.

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Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 81 filed 06/21/21 PageID.1475 Page 1 of 5

1 ROBERT W. FERGUSON
Attorney General
2
JEFFREY T. SPRUNG, WSBA #23607
3 R. JULY SIMPSON, WSBA #45869
SPENCER W. COATES, WSBA #49683
4 PAUL M. CRISALLI, WSBA #40681
Assistant Attorneys General
5 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
6 (206) 464-7744

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
8 AT SPOKANE

9 STATE OF WASHINGTON, NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
10 Plaintiff, STIPULATED DISMISSAL
WITHOUT PREJUDICE OF
11 v. FIRST AMENDED
COMPLAINT
12 MIGUEL CARDONA, in his official
capacity as Acting Secretary of the
13 United States Department of
Education, and the UNITED STATES
14 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, a
federal agency,
15
Defendants.
16

17 Plaintiff State of Washington filed a complaint and motion for preliminary

18 injunction in this action on May 19, 2020, (ECF Nos. 1 and 5) challenging

19 Defendants’ imposition of eligibility restrictions on COVID-19 emergency

20 assistance grants for students under the Higher Education Emergency Relief

21 Funds Program (HEERF) enacted under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and

22 Economic Security (CARES) Act of March 27, 2020. Defendants’ eligibility

STIPULATED DISMISSAL 1 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
WITHOUT PREJUDICE OF FIRST 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
AMENDED COMPLAINT (206) 464-7744
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 81 filed 06/21/21 PageID.1476 Page 2 of 5

1 restrictions first appeared on April 21, 2020, in guidance that prohibited
2 institutions of higher education from disbursing HEERF grants to students unless

3 they were eligible for federal financial aid under title IV of the Higher Education

4 Act of 1965 (Title IV). On June 17, 2020, Defendants published an Interim Final

5 Rule (IFR) that incorporated Defendants’ Title IV restrictions on student

6 eligibility for HEERF grants and also stated that restrictions on the disbursement

7 of “federal financial aid” to certain noncitizens under 8 U.S.C. § 1611

8 (Section 1611) applied to HEERF grants.

9 On June 12, 2020, this Court issued a preliminary injunction (ECF No. 31)

10 prohibiting Defendants from implementing or enforcing the provisions of the

11 April 21, 2020, guidance and the IFR that restricts the discretion of higher

12 institutions in the State of Washington to determine which students will receive

13 CARES Act student emergency financial assistance grants. The Order did not lift

14 the restrictions of Section 1611, and in an Order on a subsequent motion for

15 partial summary judgment, the Court declined to lift those restrictions (ECF

16 No. 63). On September 18, 2020, Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint

17 (ECF No. 69) to incorporate a challenge to Defendants’ IFR as ultra vires and as

18 violating separation of powers’ principles, the Spending Clause, and the

19 Administrative Procedure Act.

20
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22

STIPULATED DISMISSAL 2 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
WITHOUT PREJUDICE OF FIRST 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
AMENDED COMPLAINT (206) 464-7744
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 81 filed 06/21/21 PageID.1477 Page 3 of 5

1 On May 14, 2021, Defendants published in the Federal Register a
2 Final Rule, 86 Fed. Reg. 26608, in which they rescinded the IFR’s Title IV and

3 Section 1611 eligibility restrictions on HEERF grants to students and amended

4 applicable regulations to provide that eligible institutions of higher education

5 could disburse HEERF grants to any enrolled student.

6 THEREFORE, the PARTIES, through their undersigned attorneys,

7 HEREBY STIPULATE AND AGREE as follows:

8 1. The above-captioned action is dismissed without prejudice pursuant

9 to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii); and

10 2. All parties will bear their own fees and costs.

11 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 21 day of June 2021.
12 ROBERT W. FERGUSON
Attorney General of Washington
13

14 /s/ R. July Simpson
JEFFREY T. SPRUNG, WSBA #23607
15 R. JULY SIMPSON, WSBA #45869
SPENCER W. COATES, WSBA #49683
16 PAUL M. CRISALLI, WSBA #40681
Assistant Attorneys General
17 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
18 (206) 464-7744
jeff.sprung@atg.wa.gov
19 july.simpson@atg.wa.gov
spencer.coates@atg.wa.gov
20 paul.crisalli@atg.wa.gov
21 Attorneys for Plaintiff State of Washington
22

STIPULATED DISMISSAL 3 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
WITHOUT PREJUDICE OF FIRST 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
AMENDED COMPLAINT (206) 464-7744
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 81 filed 06/21/21 PageID.1478 Page 4 of 5

1 BRIAN M. BOYNTON
Acting Assistant Attorney General
2 MARCIA BERMAN
Assistant Director, Federal Programs Branch
3
4 /s/ Alexander V. Sverdlov
ALEXANDER V. SVERDLOV
5 (New York Bar No. 4918793)
Trial Attorney
6 U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
7 1100 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
8 Tel. (202) 305-8550
alexander.v.sverdlov@usdoj.gov
9
Attorneys for Defendants
10

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STIPULATED DISMISSAL 4 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
WITHOUT PREJUDICE OF FIRST 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
AMENDED COMPLAINT (206) 464-7744
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 81 filed 06/21/21 PageID.1479 Page 5 of 5

1 DECLARATION OF SERVICE
2 I hereby declare that on this day I caused the foregoing document to be
3 electronically filed with the Clerk of the Court using the Court’s
4 CM/ECF System, which will serve a copy of this document upon all counsel of
5 record.
6 DATED this 21 day of June 2021 at Tacoma, Washington.
7
/s/ R. July Simpson
8 R. JULY SIMPSON, WSBA #45869
Assistant Attorney General
9
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STIPULATED DISMISSAL 5 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
WITHOUT PREJUDICE OF FIRST 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
AMENDED COMPLAINT (206) 464-7744
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR

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