Filed Date: Feb. 28, 2017
Closed Date: 2017
Clearinghouse coding complete
On February 28, 2017, an incoming college student whose mother was not a U.S. citizen filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case was assigned to Judge Rosemary Collyer. The plaintiff sued the District of Columbia and several government employees involved in the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the District of Columbia Administrative Procedures Act, and D.C. CODE §§ 38.2702(c)(2). The plaintiff, represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, alleged that the defendant had violated the Supremacy Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution as well as the District of Columbia's Administrative Procedure Act. The plaintiff sought declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as attorneys’ fees.
DCTAG was a federal tuition assistance program that provided financial aid to D.C. residents attending college. To be eligible for DCTAG, applicants had to have been domiciled in D.C. for twelve consecutive months before the start of their freshman year. The plaintiff, a U.S. citizen, had lived in D.C. with her mother for the plaintiff’s whole life. However, because her mother was not a citizen, her mother could not establish domicile. The plaintiff was denied funding for the 2015-2016 school year because she had been a dependent of a noncitizen in the previous twelve months. When she reapplied for the 2016-2017 school year, the defendants allegedly told her that she would never be eligible for DCTAG because her parent did not have the “requisite citizenship status.”
The parties settled the case out of court on April 26, 2017. The court dismissed the case without prejudice until June 12, 2017. If June 12, 2017 passed and neither party moved to reopen the case, the case would be dismissed with prejudice. That date passed with neither party moving to reopen the case, so the settlement was presumably consummated. We do not know the terms of the settlement because all settlement proceedings happened outside of court. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Rebecca Strauss (6/14/2018)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4611655/parties/villalobos-v-district-of-columbia/
Amarillas, Fernando (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Steven J. (District of Columbia)
Barksdale, Charles Beverly (District of Columbia)
Bender, Robyn Renee (District of Columbia)
Beydoun, Ali Abed (District of Columbia)
Collyer, Rosemary M. (District of Columbia)
Amarillas, Fernando (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Steven J. (District of Columbia)
Barksdale, Charles Beverly (District of Columbia)
Bender, Robyn Renee (District of Columbia)
Beydoun, Ali Abed (District of Columbia)
BISCEGLIE, KYLE C. (District of Columbia)
Blecher, Matthew Robert (District of Columbia)
Block, Alan S. (District of Columbia)
Chang, William (District of Columbia)
Copeland, Chad Wayne (District of Columbia)
CROWE, THOMAS E. (District of Columbia)
Cullen, Alicia Marie (District of Columbia)
Cumming, Gregory Martin (District of Columbia)
DeBerardinis, Robert A. (District of Columbia)
DeMarco, Juliane T. (District of Columbia)
Dickerson, Rahsaan J (District of Columbia)
Donkor, Patricia B. (District of Columbia)
Drummey, Jane (District of Columbia)
Finkhousen, Aaron Josiah (District of Columbia)
Fischer, Michael John (District of Columbia)
Fisher, David (District of Columbia)
Frost, Shana Lyn (District of Columbia)
George, Laura (District of Columbia)
Gere, Elizabeth Sarah (District of Columbia)
Gill, Ronald William (District of Columbia)
Gonzalez, Joseph Alfonso (District of Columbia)
Graham, Grace (District of Columbia)
Guest, Nathan Andrew (District of Columbia)
Jackson, David A. (District of Columbia)
Jackson, Catherine Anne (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Holly Michelle (District of Columbia)
Jones, Shermineh C. (District of Columbia)
Kim, Brian Gook-hyun (District of Columbia)
Knapp, Sarah L. (District of Columbia)
Latterell, Richard Allan (District of Columbia)
Levinson-Waldman, Ariel B. (District of Columbia)
Madigan, Patrick Thomas (District of Columbia)
Matini, Shana Lyn (District of Columbia)
McKinley, Erica Taylor (District of Columbia)
Medley, Philip Alexander (District of Columbia)
Montee, Amanda (District of Columbia)
MORGAN, FREDERICK M. (District of Columbia)
Mullen, Martha J. (District of Columbia)
Naini, Ali (District of Columbia)
Naso, Chad Alan (District of Columbia)
Okereke, Christina (District of Columbia)
Pham, Tram T. (District of Columbia)
Pittman, Jonathan Hale (District of Columbia)
Pivec, Mary E. (District of Columbia)
Rich, Robert Joseph (District of Columbia)
Rosenbloom, Douglas Stuart (District of Columbia)
Roundtree, Portia M. (District of Columbia)
Rushkoff, Bennett C. (District of Columbia)
Saindon, Andrew J. (District of Columbia)
Simmons, Jack M. (District of Columbia)
STONE, DAVID S. (District of Columbia)
Tilghman, Michael A. (District of Columbia)
Towns, James Anthony (District of Columbia)
VALENTINE, ELIZABETH (District of Columbia)
Washington, Alicia D. (District of Columbia)
WEINGARTEN, MARC P. (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4611655/villalobos-v-district-of-columbia/
Last updated March 13, 2024, 3 a.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Feb. 28, 2017
Closing Date: 2017
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
An incoming college student seeking financial aid whose mother is not a U.S. citizen
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
District of Columbia (District of Columbia), Federal
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Issues
General:
Access to public accommodations - governmental
Public benefits (includes, e.g., in-state tuition, govt. jobs)
Discrimination-area:
Discrimination-basis:
Immigration/Border: