Ashley Carlson was sued by her private student-loan lender SoFi. Now, she's fighting for her balance to be discharged. Hannah Latham, Alyssa Powell/BI By 2026-05-14T10:00:02.466Z After Ashley Carlson puts her two kids to bed, she stays up until 2 a.m. most nights drafting court filings — work she never imagined doing before SoFi sued her to collect $55,000 in defaulted student debt . For the last two years, she's represented herself in a court battle with the private student-loan lender . Best-case scenario: Carlson gets her case dismissed, and her loans are discharged. In the worst case, she'll owe her defaulted balance plus hundreds of dollars in legal fees, with the risk of wage garnishment and a hit to her credit score if she doesn't pay up. Carlson is pinning her legal hopes on an email she received in February 2024, congratulating her for paying off her balance .…