2021 Colorado Code
Title 5 - Consumer Credit Code
Article 20 - Colorado Student Loan Servicers
Part 2 - Private Student Education Lenders
§ 5-20-214. Remedies - Civil Actions - Limitations - Deceptive Trade Practice

1. In addition to any other remedies provided by this part 2 or otherwise provided by law, whenever it is proven by a preponderance of the evidence that a lender or collection agency has filed with a court or provided to the private education loan borrower information required under this part 2 that is false, the court shall award to the private education loan borrower the greater of:
   1. Treble damages; or
   2. One thousand five hundred dollars.

2. A private education loan borrower or cosigner who suffers damage as a result of a violation of this part 2 may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover:
   1. The greater of actual damages or five hundred dollars;
   2. An order requiring the lender or collection agency to take all actions necessary to correct the private education loan borrower's credit report;
   3. Punitive damages;
   4. Attorney fees and court costs; and
   5. Any other relief that the court deems proper. (2.5) A court shall not award monetary damages under both this part 2 and article 16 of this title 5 or 15 U.S.C. sec. 1692k for violations of law arising from specific instances of the same conduct.

3. Notwithstanding article 80 of title 13, all actions brought under this part 2 must be commenced within six years after the date on which any violation of this part 2 occurred, within six years after the date on which the last in a series of such acts or practices occurred, or within six years after the plaintiff discovered, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the occurrence of a violation of this part 2; except that the period of limitation provided in this subsection (3) may be extended for a period of one year if the plaintiff proves that failure to timely commence the action was caused by the defendant engaging in conduct calculated to induce the plaintiff to refrain from or postpone the commencement of the action.
4. A violation of this part 2 is a deceptive trade practice as specified in section 6-1-105. A private education lender or collection agency that fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this part 2 with respect to a private education loan borrower or cosigner is liable in an amount equal to the sum of:
   1. Any actual damages sustained by the private education loan borrower or cosigner as a result of the failure;
   2. A monetary award equal to three times the total amount the private education lender or collection agency collected from the private education loan borrower or cosigner in violation of this part 2;
   3. Punitive damages as the court may allow; and
   4. In the case of any successful action by a private education loan borrower to enforce the liability set out in this section, the costs of the action, together with reasonable attorney fees as determined by the court.

5. The remedies provided in this section are not the exclusive remedies available to a private education loan borrower or cosigner.

History. Source: L. 2021: Entire part added,(SB 21-057), ch. 378, p. 2529, § 5, effective June 29.