Thomas v. Department of Education (In re Thomas)

931 F.3d 449 (2019)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Thomas v. Department of Education (In re Thomas)

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
931 F.3d 449 (2019)

Play video

Facts

In 2012, Vera Thomas (plaintiff) enrolled at a local community college. She took two $3,500 loans from the Department of Education (defendant) to pay for her first two semesters of school. Thomas’s loans went into repayment in December 2013. In 2014, Thomas was diagnosed with diabetic neuropathy, which causes leg and foot pain after long periods of standing. Thomas incurred significant medical expenses and often took unpaid leave from her job at a call center to manage her symptoms. Thomas was fired from the call center in 2016 for violating company policies. Thomas subsequently took jobs at Perfumania, Whataburger, and United Parcel Service (UPS). However, Thomas could not keep those jobs because they required standing. Thomas left UPS in 2017 and did not find a new job. Thomas became unable to make payments toward her loans, and she filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. Thomas received a general discharge of her debts, but her student-loan debt was not discharged. Thomas brought an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court against the Department of Education, seeking the discharge of her student-loan debt. Thomas demonstrated that her $194 monthly income was insufficient to meet her $640 monthly expenses. However, she could not show that she was completely incapable of obtaining employment at that time or in the future. The bankruptcy court refused to discharge the debt, and the district court affirmed. Thomas appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Jones, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership