Commonwealth of Pa. v. Navient Corp.—civil—affirmance—Ambro

The Third Circuit held today that Pennsylvania may bring a parallel enforcement action against a student loan provider under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 even though the CFPB already had brought a suit against them. It further held that Pennsylvania’s suit was not preempted by the Higher Education Act, which preempts failure-to-disclose claims but not affirmative-misrepresentation claims.

Joining Ambro were McKee and Phipps. Arguing counsel were Michael Shumsky of D.C. for the loan provider, Howard Hopkirk of the state AG’s office for Pa., and Christopher Deal for the CFPB.

The Court also issued two precedential opinions on Friday.

U.S. v. Pawlowski—criminal—affirmance—Ambro

In an appeal initially decided by non-precedential opinion where the court granted the government’s motion to decide it precedentially, the Third Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of compassionate release based on COVID risk. The court held that its review was for abuse of discretion, and it found none.

Joining Ambro were Krause and Bibas. The case was decided without oral argument.

Blanco v. A.G.—immigration—reversal—Fisher

The Third Circuit reversed the BIA’s denial of a Honduran citizen’s claims for asylum and withholding of removal, holding that the BIA misapplied Third Circuit precedent on past persecution and improperly analyzed whether the man had to corroborate his testimony in support of his claim under the Convention Against Torture.

Joining Fisher were Porter and Rendell. Arguing counsel were Aaron Rabinowitz of Baker & Hostetler for the immigrant and Enitan Otunla for the government.