NAVIENT PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN LAWSUITS AND JUDGMENTS

Navient is probably the largest private student loan lender in the country. Navient is a spin-off or sister company of Sallie Mae who formerly handled all of their private student loans and still has a large portfolio of them. Navient like Sallie Mae quickly pursues defaulted student loans by means of collection, and by suing consumers quickly. These lawsuits frequently result in default judgments that can quickly accrue a ton of additional judgment interest, attorney fees and other fees adding to an already large debt amount. Navient retains debt collection law firms in New York such as Forster and Garbus to enforce on these judgments for them. Forster and Garbus does this by way of a bank levy, wage garnishment or even the placing of a lien on a consumer’s property.

The best way to defend against these lawsuits is to submit an answer with the appropriate affirmative defenses. This alone can give the consumer enough leverage to settle these matters for 50% - 75% off of the entire balance. However, many of these lawsuits do result as default judgments due to the notoriously poor service of process in New York. This means that a consumer must then vacate the default judgment against them just to get back to the same position they were in when the lawsuit began. There are numerous ways to vacate a judgment but they almost always have to do with some form of inadequate service. Preventing a default judgment gives the consumer great leverage to defend and or settle these loans for much less than the balance which is why it is also so important to vacate a default judgment against Navient so that the consumer has the same options of someone who is properly served.