Thornton v. Harvard University
| Decision Date | 26 March 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. A. 96-10591-GAO.,CIV. A. 96-10591-GAO. |
| Citation | 2 F.Supp.2d 89 |
| Parties | John Andres THORNTON, Plaintiff, v. HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Harvard Law School; and Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, Defendants. MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATIONAL FINANCING AUTHORITY, Counter-Claimant, v. John Andres THORNTON, Counter-Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
O'TOOLE, District Judge.
This action concerns a Harvard Law School ("Harvard") financial aid program by which Harvard helps qualifying graduates repay their educational loans. The plaintiff John Andres Thornton ("Thornton") claims that he was wrongly denied aid under this program. The Court here considers three motions: (1) the Harvard defendants' motion for summary judgment; (2) the defendant Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority's ("MEFA") motion for summary judgment; and (3) MEFA's motion for summary judgment on its counterclaim, seeking a declaration that Thornton is in default and an award of interest and attorney's fees. For the reasons that follow, the court grants summary judgment on Thornton's claims in favor of Harvard and MEFA, and on MEFA's counterclaim in favor of MEFA.
Following are the relevant facts drawing all reasonable inferences that may be derived from the evidence in a light most favorable to Thornton, the non-moving party. See Woodman v. Haemonetics Corp., 51 F.3d 1087, 1091 (1st Cir.1995).
In 1987, Harvard sent a recruitment catalogue to Thornton. It described a program called the "Low Income Protection Plan" ("LIPP"):
Recognizing that our graduates have increasingly high educational debt burdens and that a career choice in the public service and some other areas of law will result in relatively low salaries, we established the Low-Income Protection Program (LIPP) in 1978. This program, the first of its type in the country, helps relieve the burden of repayments of educational loans for law school for all graduates in low-paying, law related jobs.1
Thornton Aff. Ex. 5 at 13. Relying on this, Thornton decided to apply to Harvard despite its high cost of attendance. Thornton claims he would not have applied to Harvard but for LIPP.
Thornton made no inquiry about LIPP until his third year of law school. In 1991, he asked the LIPP administrator, Mary Magnuson, how to apply for coverage under the plan in the event that his post-law school employment turned out to be "low-income." He was given the 1991-1992 Low Income Protection Plan Guidelines, which defined "law-related" employment as requiring that two conditions be met:
(1) The distinctive intellectual skills acquired in a legal education are generally recognized as useful in the job;
(2) It is not highly unusual for members of the legal profession to hold similar jobs.
Curll Aff. Ex. 5 at 2. Thornton alleges that at this meeting, Thornton told Magnuson that he was considering employment with the foreign service, on Capitol Hill, or as a political reporter. Magnuson told Thornton that she could not pre-approve a claim for any of those jobs. Rather, Thornton would have to obtain his position and a statement from his employer first. Magnuson promised that Harvard would measure his claim against the 1991-1992 definition of "law-related" employment, and pay the claim if his job met that definition. (Thornton Aff. ¶ 22 and Ex. 8).
Thornton took a position as a journalist covering national politics for a Venezuelan newspaper. After moving to Venezuela and beginning work, Thornton applied for LIPP assistance. His initial application stated that he was working as an economic rather than a political reporter. Magnuson discussed the application with Joyce Curll, Assistant Dean of Admissions, and Sally Donahue, Director of Financial Aid (both members of Harvard's Financial Aid Committee). All concluded that a job as an economic reporter for a Venezuelan newspaper was not "law-related" under the LIPP definition, and Magnuson notified Thornton of the denial of his application.
Magnuson then received a letter from the Thornton's editor stating that Thornton was working as a political rather than an economic reporter. Magnuson, Curll, and Donohue concluded that this position also was not "law-related" and Magnuson again notified Thornton that his application had been denied. Thornton telephoned Magnuson and sent several letters protesting the decision and asking that it be reconsidered. In response, Magnuson circulated his application to the Financial Aid Committee faculty members, who agreed that the position did not qualify. Magnuson informed Thornton of the decision.
In June 1993, Thornton accepted a position with a public relations firm in Mexico City. Two months later, he left and accepted a position with a law firm in Miami. Thornton then applied for LIPP benefits for the period from June 1993 to June 1994. Since his Miami law firm position was "law-related" and he satisfied the other LIPP requirements, his application was approved. However, a portion of Thornton's loans were deemed not to be eligible for LIPP repayment because they were "parental replacement loans."2 Thornton then ceased his loan payments and filed the instant action.
Thornton's complaint sets forth eleven causes of action against Harvard: breach of contract (Count I); breach of written promise (Count II); unjust enrichment (Count III); fraud (Count IV); negligent misrepresentation (Count V); misleading advertising (Count VI); unauthorized sale of insurance (Count VII); declaratory relief (Count VIII); estoppel (Count IX); unfair claim settlement practices (Count X); breach of implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing (Count XI). Harvard has moved for summary judgment in its favor on all counts. Summary judgment is appropriate if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Woodman 51 F.3d at 1091. Contract Claims (Counts I and XI) and Quasi Contract Claims (Counts II, III, and IX)
Thornton alleges that the LIPP program created a contract between him and Harvard, the terms of which were that "Harvard was obligated to pay Thornton upon his graduation a percentage of his loan payments on the loans he had taken out from Harvard and MEFA up to 100% and depending solely on his income if he took a job that was law-related." Am. Compl. ¶ 89.
Courts have held that the basic legal relationship between students and universities is contractual in nature. Mangla v. Brown Univ., 135 F.3d 80, 83 (1st Cir.1998); Russell v. Salve Regina College, 938 F.2d 315, 316 (1st Cir.1991). "The terms of the contract may include statements provided in student manuals and registration materials." Mangla, 135 F.3d at 83; Lyons v. Salve Regina College, 565 F.2d 200, 202 (1st Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 971, 98 S.Ct. 1611, 56 L.Ed.2d 62 (1978). "The proper standard for interpreting the contractual terms is that of `reasonable expectation— what meaning the party making the manifestation, the university, should reasonably expect the other party to give it.'" Mangla, 135 F.3d at 83 (quoting Giles v. Howard Univ., 428 F.Supp. 603, 605 (D.D.C.1977)).
First, Thornton alleges that the description of LIPP in the Application Catalogue created a contract between him and Harvard upon his payment of the deposit. In full, that statement reads:
We have a long-standing commitment to encourage students to pursue the law-related career of their choice, regardless of salary. Recognizing that our graduates have increasingly high educational debt burdens and that a career choice in the public service and some other areas of law will result in relatively low salaries, we established the Low Income Protection Program (LIPP) in 1978. This program, the first of its type in the country, helps relieve the burden of repayments of educational loans for law school for all graduates in low-paying, law-related jobs.
LIPP permits participants to apply only a limited percentage of their earnings towards their total annual loan repayment obligations. The Program provides that Harvard Law School will pay any remaining law school loan payments due that year.
For the year July 1, 1987 through June 30, 1988, the Plan provides that a graduate earning less than $20,000 in a law-related position will allocate 0% of his or her salary toward repaying Harvard Law School debts (i.e., Harvard Law School would pay all such debts that year); at the highest eligible income levels, a graduate earning between $26,001 and $29,000 contributes 6% of salary, or $130 to $145 per month, toward Harvard Law School debt repayment.
More information on LIPP is provided in the Financial Aid Guide.3
Thornton Aff. Ex. 1 at 2. This language creates no "reasonable expectation" that Harvard would find any particular job "law-related" so as to qualify under LIPP. The language explicitly refers the reader to the Financial Aid Guide for more information about the program and effectively incorporated the Financial Aid Guidelines into any contract that was formed. Those guidelines explicitly reserved the university's "right to change at any time the terms and guidelines for the various aid programs in order to make the best use of funds...
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