California Code, Civil Code - CIV § 1788.208

(a) A person may bring a cause of action against a creditor, private education lender, or private education loan collector for a violation of any provision of this title in order to recover or obtain any of the following:

(b) In the case of a class action, a defendant that violates any provision of this title shall be liable for any statutory damages for each named plaintiff as provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).  If the court finds that the defendant engaged in a pattern and practice of violating any provision of this title, the court may award additional damages to the class in an amount not to exceed the lesser of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or 1 percent of the net worth of the defendant.

(d) A private education lender or private education loan collector shall have no civil liability for damages under this section if the private education lender or private education loan collector shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error, and occurred notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any error.

(e) A cause of action to enforce any liability created by this title shall be brought within one year from the date of the discovery by the plaintiff of the last violation, or, in the event a default judgment is entered against the debtor, one year from the date the borrower first receives a writ, notice, or order under Division 1 (commencing with Section 680.010) or Division 2 (commencing with Section 695.010) of Title 9 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, whichever is later.