Student Loan | Whistle-blower Files Counterclaim To Nelnet Suit
December 7, 2011 – 11:45 am
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) ” A former employee sued by Lincoln-based student loan company Nelnet over his failed whistle-blower lawsuit filed a counterclaim on Tuesday.
Tim Matusheski , the attorney for Rudy Vigil , told The Associated Press that he filed a notice of removal last week to move the issue to federal court.
The Lincoln Journal Star ( reported that Nelnet had sued Vigil in state court.
Vigil, who lives in Commerce City, Colo., joined Nelnet in 2003 and was fired in January 2005. He sued Nelnet, and they settled in October 2005.
Nelnet said in its lawsuit that as part of the 2005 settlement, “Vigil agreed to fully and forever release and discharge Nelnet from any and all claims, demands, actions liabilities and damages of any kind and nature.”
But in 2007, Vigil filed a federal lawsuit as a whistle-blower under the False Claims Act , accusing the company of improperly collecting federal subsidies after violating federal lending rules. The lawsuit was dismissed last year. The dismissal was upheld on appeal.
Nelnet said that lawsuit violated the 2005 agreement with Vigil.
“We have always believed the allegations in the Vigil complaint to be completely without merit,” Nelnet spokesman Ben Kiser told the Journal Star.
But Matusheski told the AP that as long as Vigil had a reasonable belief that he was “stopping a crime or a violation of the False Claims Act, he’s protected by the First Amendment and the False Claims Act.”
In Vigil’s counterclaim, he’s demanding that Nelnet release any claims against him and he seeks an unstated amount of money for compensatory, punitive and other damages, Matusheski said.
Nelnet, by filing the lawsuit, is harassing and punishing Vigil for his 2007 whistle-blower lawsuit, Matusheski said.
Nelnet’s Kaiser said the courts repeatedly agreed with his company’s position in contesting Vigil’s 2007 allegations.
Nelnet is trying to recover “expenses incurred related to the meritless claims,” Kaiser said. “Their assertions are totally inaccurate.”
Information from: Lincoln Journal Star,
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Tags: Student loan
