Connecticut General Statutes 36a-855 – Action for damages, fees, costs and equitable relief. Class actions
(a) Any student loan borrower, class of student loan borrowers or the legal representative of such borrower or borrowers aggrieved by a violation of any provision of sections 36a-846 to 36a-854, inclusive, by a student loan servicer, may bring an action in the Superior Court. Upon finding that a student loan servicer has violated any provision of said sections, the court may award a prevailing party actual damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs, and may, in its discretion, award punitive damages and restitution of property and may provide such equitable relief as it deems appropriate.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 36a-855
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Loan: includes any line of credit or other extension of credit. See Connecticut General Statutes 36a-2
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, any territory of the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the trust territory of the Pacific Islands, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. See Connecticut General Statutes 36a-2
(b) In addition to the judicial relief provided under subsection (a) of this section, in any civil action brought under this section in which the student loan borrower prevails, the court may award treble damages upon a finding that the student loan servicer has engaged in conduct that substantially interferes with (1) such student loan borrower’s right to an alternative payment arrangement, loan forgiveness, cancellation or discharge of the student loan borrower’s student education loan, or (2) any other financial benefit (A) established under the terms of such student loan borrower’s promissory note, or (B) pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended from time to time, or the regulations adopted thereunder.
(c) Any student loan borrower, or the legal representative of such borrower, entitled to bring an action under subsection (a) of this section may, pursuant to rules established by the judges of the Superior Court, bring a class action on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated student loan borrowers to recover damages.
(d) The remedies provided under this section shall be in addition to any other remedies provided under state or federal law, and a student loan borrower shall not be required to exhaust any administrative remedies established pursuant to sections 36a-846 to 36a-854, inclusive, prior to bringing an action under this section.