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What the court decided
Sweet v. McMahon concerns the Education Department’s handling of federal borrower-defense-to-repayment applications. Borrower defense is a process through which borrowers may seek relief based on alleged misconduct by their schools. The plaintiffs filed suit in May 2019, alleging that the Department had failed to decide their applications. A class was certified in October 2019. The parties reached a settlement in June 2022, which the district court approved and entered as a final judgment on November 16, 2022. The Ninth Circuit’s July 17, 2026 opinion affirmed the district court’s denial of the Department’s request under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) to modify that judgment.
The panel applied an abuse-of-discretion standard and concluded that the Department had not demonstrated a significant change in facts or law that justified changing the settlement. It noted that the Department knew the post-class applicant group was about 179,000 when it jointly sought final approval in September 2022, and knew by February 2023 that it exceeded 205,000. The court also rejected the Department’s argument that problems involving consolidated loans warranted modification, finding it had not shown that those problems were unknown when it agreed to the settlement.
The court did not need to decide whether post-class applicants were technically members of the certified class, because that point did not affect its Rule 60(b)(5) analysis. It also did not decide borrowers’ separate argument that passing a settlement deadline gave them a “vested right” to relief.
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Who the settlement covers—and the deadlines
The settlement distinguishes between the original class and “Post-Class Applicants”: borrowers who submitted borrower-defense applications after the settlement was executed on June 22, 2022, but before its final approval on November 16, 2022. The settlement set a three-year adjudication period beginning on its January 28, 2023 effective date. For post-class applicants, that made January 28, 2026 the specified decision deadline. If the Department did not issue a decision by the deadline that applied to an applicant, the settlement provided “Full Settlement Relief.”
In December 2025, the district court modified the deadlines: applicants who attended one of the 151 schools listed in Exhibit C still had to receive decisions by January 28, 2026; the deadline for other post-class applications was extended to April 15, 2026. The Ninth Circuit’s March 25, 2026 order denying an emergency stay described the January 28 deadline. That stay denial was an interim ruling; the July opinion was the merits decision affirming the denial of the Department’s later request to modify the settlement.
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| Post-class applicant group | Decision deadline described in the court orders | Settlement consequence if no decision by the applicable deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants who attended one of the 151 Exhibit C schools | January 28, 2026 | Full Settlement Relief |
| Other post-class applicants | April 15, 2026, under the district court’s December 2025 order | Full Settlement Relief |
The relief follows the settlement’s terms; the ruling is not blanket cancellation for all federal student loan borrowers.
Will my student loans be discharged?
The ruling alone cannot confirm your individual account’s status. Whether the settlement applies to you depends on whether you are in a covered applicant group, the deadline applicable to your application, and whether the Department issued a decision by that deadline. The appellate opinions do not provide an individual borrower lookup or establish whether a particular borrower has received a discharge, refund, or credit-report update. Check official borrower-specific notices and account information for your case rather than relying on the group figure or assuming a particular payment or credit outcome.
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The post-class deadlines described above concern applications submitted during a specific period: after June 22, 2022 and before November 16, 2022. The settlement also covers the original class, but these post-class deadline rules should not be assumed to govern applications filed outside that window. To assess your own situation, compare your application date and school with the settlement categories, then verify the decision status and any notice from the Department. The court’s opinions do not themselves determine each borrower’s eligibility or account-level relief.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the 205,000 borrowers figure mean?
It is a group-size figure, not a count of completed discharges. The Ninth Circuit said the Department knew by February 2023 that the post-class applicant group exceeded 205,000 people. The opinion also said the Department knew of approximately 179,000 applicants when it jointly sought final approval in September 2022. Neither number establishes that every person in the group has received relief.
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Separately, Higher Ed Dive reported on July 22, 2026, citing Department court filings, that as of April 2026 the Department had discharged or refunded $12 billion for almost 300,000 borrowers under the settlement. The outlet also reported that borrower counsel estimated more than 170,000 borrowers were due relief after the July decision. Those are reported implementation figures and an attributed estimate, not findings in the Ninth Circuit’s July opinion about the disposition of each of the more than 205,000 post-class applications. Higher Ed Dive’s July 22 report provides that separate context.
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