Stipulated Request to Hold Proceedings in Abeyance, State of Washington v. Rosenfelt (docketed as v. DeVos, later v. Cardona), No. 2:20-cv-00182 (E.D. Wash.), Doc. 77 (February 18, 2021)

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A Stipulated Request to Hold Proceedings in Abeyance, ECF No. 77, filed February 18, 2021, in State of Washington v. Phil Rosenfelt, et al., No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR, United States District Court, Eastern District of Washington at Spokane. The Parties ask the Court to hold proceedings in abeyance and stay, for 60 days, the briefing schedule approved in the Court's Order of December 18, 2020 (ECF 75). The request states that on January 20, 2021, new leadership assumed responsibility for the United States Department of Education, intends to consider the public comments on the Interim Final Rule (IFR), and anticipates publishing a final rule or taking other action. The Parties propose a joint status report at the end of the sixty-day period.

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“Stipulated Request to Hold Proceedings in Abeyance, State of Washington v. Rosenfelt (docketed as v. DeVos, later v. Cardona), No. 2:20-cv-00182 (E.D. Wash.), Doc. 77 (February 18, 2021).” Original at storage.courtlistener.com. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/stay-state-of-washington-v-devos-later-v-cardona-no-2-20-cv-00182-e-d-a5d6094a43/, SHA-256 40b40884a1d30a5dde5f4a5311a82416cde38e58dac5a3b7c615d6e25590f3d1.

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Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 77 filed 02/18/21 PageID.1464 Page 1 of 5

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

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11 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
12 EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SPOKANE
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STATE OF WASHINGTON,
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Case No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR
15 Plaintiff,
STIPULATED REQUEST TO HOLD
16 v. PROCEEDINGS IN ABEYANCE
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PHIL ROSENFELT, in his official
18 capacity as the United States Acting
Secretary of Education1, et al.,
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20 Defendants.

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28 Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d), Phil Rosenfelt is automatically substituted as a
defendant in this action.
STIPULATED REQUEST TO HOLD PROCEEDINGS IN ABEYANCE
Case No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR

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Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 77 filed 02/18/21 PageID.1465 Page 2 of 5

1 Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7, the Parties submit this stipulation to request that the Court
2 hold proceedings in this action in abeyance and stay for 60 days the briefing schedule previously
3 approved by the Court in its Order of December 18, 2020. ECF 75. In support of this request,
4 the Parties stipulate and agree as follows:
5 1. Plaintiff brought this action challenging a set of guidelines Defendants’
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announced regarding student eligibility for Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund
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disbursements under the CARES Act. ECF No. 1. The guidelines Plaintiff challenged were
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ultimately codified as a set of legal requirements in an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that was
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finalized on June 11, 2020, and published in the Federal Register on June 17, 2020. The IFR
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solicited public comments, and set a deadline of July 17, 2020 for such comments to be
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submitted.
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2. On June 12, 2020, this Court issued a preliminary injunction against the
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application of the eligibility requirements codified in the IFR with respect to Plaintiff. ECF 31.
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15 That preliminary injunction remains in effect today.

16 3. The Parties subsequently negotiated a schedule for briefing summary judgment in

17 this matter, and the parties subsequently filed their opening briefs. As amended, the schedule for

18 the remaining portion of briefing is currently as follows:

19 • February 19, 2021: Plaintiff’s Combined Reply and Opposition to Defendants’
20 Motion for Summary Judgment.
21 • March 12, 2021: Defendants’ Reply in support of its Motion for Summary
22 Judgment.
23 • March 17, 2021: the case is submitted to the Court without oral argument. ECF 75.
24 4. On January 20, 2021, new leadership assumed responsibility for the United States
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Department of Education. The new leadership intends to consider the public comments
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submitted in response to the IFR and anticipates publishing a final rule or taking other action to
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address the issues raised in those comments. In light of these developments, counsel for
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Defendants conferred with counsel for Plaintiff, and the Parties have agreed and jointly request
STIPULATED REQUEST TO HOLD PROCEEDINGS IN ABEYANCE
Case No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR

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Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 77 filed 02/18/21 PageID.1466 Page 3 of 5

1 that, in order to afford the newly-installed officials time to become familiar with the issues in this
2 case and complete their consideration of further action, proceedings in this case be held in
3 abeyance for sixty days.2 The Parties further agree and propose that, at the end of this sixty-day
4 period, the Parties will file a joint status report apprising the Court of the status of the
5 Department’s consideration and whether the Parties wish to proceed with briefing cross-motions
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for summary judgment, including, if applicable, a revised briefing schedule.
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5. The Parties thus respectfully request that the Court enter an order (1) holding
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proceedings in this action in abeyance for sixty days; and (2) ordering the parties to file a joint
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status report no later than sixty days from the date of the Court’s order, apprising the Court of the
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status of the Department’s consideration and whether the Parties wish to proceed with briefing
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cross-motions for summary judgment, including, if applicable, a revised briefing schedule.
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DATED: February 18, 2021 Respectfully submitted,
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BRIAN M. BOYNTON
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Acting Assistant Attorney General
17 MARCIA BERMAN
Assistant Director, Federal Programs Branch
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19 /s/ Alexander V. Sverdlov
ALEXANDER V. SVERDLOV
20 (New York Bar No. 4918793)
Trial Attorney
21 U.S. Department of Justice
22 Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
1100 L Street, NW
23 Tel. (202) 305-8550
alexander.v.sverdlov@usdoj.gov
24
25 Attorneys for Defendants

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Two other cases pending in the District of Massachusetts, also challenging the IFR,
27 have already been held in abeyance for sixty days. See Noerand v. Rosenfelt, No. 1:20-cv-11271
(D. Mass.); Massachusetts v. Rosenfelt, No. 1:20-cv-11600 (D. Mass.). The same is true for a
28 case challenging the IFR in the Northern District of California, Oakley, et al. v. Rosenfelt, No.
4:20-cv-3215 (N.D. Cal.).
STIPULATED REQUEST TO HOLD PROCEEDINGS IN ABEYANCE
Case No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR

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Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 77 filed 02/18/21 PageID.1467 Page 4 of 5

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/s/ R. July Simpson
2 R. JULY SIMPSON, WSBA #45869
SPENCER W. COATES, WSBA #49683
3 JEFFREY T. SPRUNG, WSBA #23607
PAUL M. CRISALLI, WSBA #40681
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Assistant Attorneys General
5 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
6 (206) 464-7744
7 july.simpson@atg.wa.gov
spencer.coates@atg.wa.gov
8 jeff.sprung@atg.wa.gov
paul.crisalli@atg.wa.gov
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10 Attorneys for Plaintiff State of Washington

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STIPULATED REQUEST TO HOLD PROCEEDINGS IN ABEYANCE
Case No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR

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Case 2:20-cv-00182-TOR ECF No. 77 filed 02/18/21 PageID.1468 Page 5 of 5

1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
2 I hereby certify that on the 18th day of February, 2021, I electronically transmitted the
3 foregoing document to the Clerk of Court using the ECF System for filing.
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5 /s/ Alexander V. Sverdlov
ALEXANDER V. SVERDLOV
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STIPULATED REQUEST TO HOLD PROCEEDINGS IN ABEYANCE
Case No. 2:20-cv-00182-TOR

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