Navient Settlement Spotlights Overlooked Student Loan Discharges

Navient Corp.'s recent agreement to settle several class actions over improper student debt collection claims strengthens the momentum seized by student borrowers in pursuit of greater relief under bankruptcy law.

Borrowers have won a string of legal victories —along with the backing of enhanced regulatory measures—that punctured a widely held belief that all higher education loans are nearly impossible to eliminate in bankruptcy.

Class action plaintiffs had accused Navient, one of the largest private student loan companies in the country, of continuing to collect on debts that were wiped out in bankruptcy.

Navient’s concessions cover just a small fraction of ...