Expedite, State of Washington v. DeVos (later v. Cardona), No. 2:20-cv-00182 (E.D. Wash.), Doc. 33 (June 24, 2020)

Summary

Plaintiff State of Washington's motion to expedite and set a briefing schedule for partial summary judgment in State of Washington v. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of the United States Department of Education, No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, ECF No. 33, filed June 24, 2020 and noted for July 1, 2020. The motion says Washington plans to file its motion for partial summary judgment on June 29, 2020. It says the summary judgment motion would challenge the Department of Education's restriction on student eligibility for CARES Act emergency financial assistance grants, based on the Department's interpretation of 8 U.S.C. § 1611. The motion argues good cause exists because thousands of students need the grants. It is signed /s/ Jeffrey T. Sprung.

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“Expedite, State of Washington v. DeVos (later v. Cardona), No. 2:20-cv-00182 (E.D. Wash.), Doc. 33 (June 24, 2020).” Original at storage.courtlistener.com. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/expedite-state-of-washington-v-devos-later-v-cardona-no-2-20-cv-00182-4809adb27e/, SHA-256 eb67acb1e7e95d2b69a3cd8ef855db0851278343699251c95d46e407816882f6.

Full text

Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 33 filed 06/24/20 PageID.697 Page 1 of 6

1 ROBERT W. FERGUSON
Attorney General
2
JEFFREY T. SPRUNG, WSBA #23607
3 R. JULY SIMPSON, WSBA #45869
PAUL M. CRISALLI, WSBA #40681
4 SPENCER W. COATES, WSBA #49683
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, PLAINTIFF STATE OF
WASHINGTON’S MOTION TO
11 v. EXPEDITE AND SET
BRIEFING SCHEDULE FOR
12 BETSY DeVOS, in her official PARTIAL SUMMARY
capacity as Secretary of the United JUDGMENT
13 States Department of Education, and
the UNITED STATES NOTED FOR: July 1, 2020
14 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, a Without Oral Argument
federal agency,
15
Defendants.
16

17 Plaintiff State of Washington moves under E.D. Wash. LCivR 7(i)(2)(C)

18 for expedited consideration of its Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, which

19 it plans to file on June 29, 2020. Plaintiff intends to seek summary judgment on

20 its challenge to the U.S. Department of Education’s restriction on student

21 eligibility for CARES Act emergency financial assistance grants based on the

22 Department’s interpretation of 8 U.S.C. § 1611, i.e., that such grants constitute
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO 1 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
EXPEDITE AND SET BRIEFING 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
SCHEDULE FOR PARTIAL (206) 464-7744
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 33 filed 06/24/20 PageID.698 Page 2 of 6

1 “Federal public benefits” to which most non-citizens are ineligible. See Oakley
2 v. DeVos, No. 20-cv-03215-YGR, 2020 WL 3268661, at *13-16 (N.D. Cal.

3 June 17, 2020).

4 Good cause for expedited consideration of the motion for partial summary

5 judgment exists because, due to the financial and health emergencies posed by

6 COVID-19, there are thousands of students in Washington institutions of higher

7 education who are in need of CARES Act grants to remain in school, and in some

8 cases to survive. See, e.g., Declaration of Brian Dixon ¶ 6 (Dixon Decl.). These

9 impacts have disproportionately affected students of color. Id. Some of these

10 students have been denied CARES Act emergency grants due to the

11 Department’s eligibility restriction referred to above, which prevents students

12 who participate in the Deferred Act for Childhood Arrivals program from

13 receiving them. Dixon Decl. ¶ 7; cf. Dep’t of Homeland Sec. Regents of the Univ.

14 of California Wolf v. Vidal, No. 18-587, 2020 WL 3271746 (June 18, 2020).

15 Every day that passes where students who should be eligible for emergency

16 grants are denied this money raises the risk of students disengaging, dropping out

17 of school, and being forced to change their educational plans. Dixon Decl. ¶ 8.

18 This is an immediate problem. Washington State University (WSU), for example,

19 is on a semester system, and students will resume classes in the middle of August.

20 Students must begin making plans now to return to school. Having access as soon

21 as possible to money to help pay for unexpected expenses caused by COVID-19

22
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO 2 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
EXPEDITE AND SET BRIEFING 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
SCHEDULE FOR PARTIAL (206) 464-7744
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 33 filed 06/24/20 PageID.699 Page 3 of 6

1 will make the difference for some students who may not otherwise be able to
2 return to WSU for their fall semester. Dixon Decl. ¶ 9. The local rules’ time

3 requirements for a hearing date necessitate that Washington have its motion

4 decided as soon as possible.

5 Washington cannot file a motion for summary judgment that resolves this

6 entire case in time to get the students referred to above the relief they need.

7 Resolution of Washington’s arbitrary and capricious claim (Count II) “is based

8 on the administrative record and the basis for the agency’s decision must come

9 from the record.” Ass’n of Irritated Residents v. U.S. E.P.A., 790 F.3d 934, 942

10 (9th Cir. 2015). Here, the Department has not yet filed the Administrative Record.

11 Further, once the Department files the Record, Washington will need time to

12 analyze its sufficiency and, if Washington has objections, to negotiate or litigate

13 its adequacy. See, e.g., Washington v. United States Dep’t of State,

14 No. C18-1115RSL, 2019 WL 1254876 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 19, 2019).

15 Consequently, Washington cannot move for summary judgment on Count II until

16 after the Administrative Record is produced and its sufficiency is resolved, a

17 process that easily could take at least until September.

18 Opposing party’s position. On June 22, 2020, Plaintiffs’ counsel e-mailed

19 counsel for Defendants, and on June 24, 2020, Plaintiff’s counsel spoke by

20 telephone with Defendants’ counsel seeking consent to this motion. The

21 Department opposes this motion.

22
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO 3 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
EXPEDITE AND SET BRIEFING 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
SCHEDULE FOR PARTIAL (206) 464-7744
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 33 filed 06/24/20 PageID.700 Page 4 of 6

1 Briefing schedule. Plaintiff respectfully proposes the following briefing
2 schedule that balances giving Defendants reasonable time to respond to

3 Plaintiff’s motion and students’ need for prompt relief during the pending state

4 of emergency:

5 June 29, 2020: Plaintiff will file its motion for partial summary

6 judgment.

7 July 14, 2020: Defendants will file their opposition to the motion.

8 July 21, 2020: Plaintiff will file its reply brief.

9 For the foregoing reasons, Washington requests expedited consideration of

10 its motion for partial summary judgment. A proposed order is submitted

11 herewith.

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PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO 4 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
EXPEDITE AND SET BRIEFING 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
SCHEDULE FOR PARTIAL (206) 464-7744
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 33 filed 06/24/20 PageID.701 Page 5 of 6

1 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 24th day of June 2020.
2 ROBERT W. FERGUSON
Attorney General of Washington
3
4 /s/ Jeffrey T. Sprung
JEFFREY T. SPRUNG, WSBA #23607
5 R. JULY SIMPSON, WSBA #45869
PAUL M. CRISALLI, WSBA #40681
6 SPENCER W. COATES, WSBA #49683
Assistant Attorneys General
7 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
8 (206) 464-7744
jeff.sprung@atg.wa.gov
9 july.simpson@atg.wa.gov
paul.crisalli@atg.wa.gov
10 spencer.coates@atg.wa.gov
Attorneys for Plaintiff State of Washington
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PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO 5 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
EXPEDITE AND SET BRIEFING 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
SCHEDULE FOR PARTIAL (206) 464-7744
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 33 filed 06/24/20 PageID.702 Page 6 of 6

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 CM/ECF System

4 which will serve a copy of this document upon all counsel of record.

5 DATED this 24th day of June 2020, at Seattle, Washington.

6
/s/ Jeffrey T. Sprung
7 JEFFREY T. SPRUNG, WSBA #23607
Assistant Attorney General
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PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO 6 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
Complex Litigation
EXPEDITE AND SET BRIEFING 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
SCHEDULE FOR PARTIAL (206) 464-7744
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
NO. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR

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