District Court (Nev.) Says Post-Chapter 13 Reporting of Debt Was Not Improper

In Riekki v. Bayview Financial Loan Servicing, 2016 WL 4083216 (D. Nev. 2016), Judge Mahan found that post-Chapter 13 discharge credit reporting of a debt was not improper.

Plaintiff argues that defendant furnished an inaccurate credit report in violation of the FCRA. (ECF No. 29). Plaintiff alleges that the report is inaccurate because defendant reported a debt on plaintiff’s delinquent account subsequent to approval of plaintiff’s bankruptcy discharge. (Id.). Therefore, plaintiff states the reported debt on his credit report should be removed because it is inaccurate. (ECF No. 22).  Defendant argues that, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, reporting of collection issues is allowed for seven years after a bankruptcy discharge and reporting of the bankruptcy itself is allowed for ten years after the discharge. (ECF No. 33). Therefore, defendant argues that the report is accurate, and plaintiff has failed to state a claim for which relief can be granted.  15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(4) states that consumer reporting agencies may not report “[a]ccounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years.” In addition, 15 U.S.C § 1681c(a)(1) states that consumer reporting agencies may not report “[c]ases under Title 11 or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, antedate the report by more than 10 years.” A furnisher of credit reports must delete the reported debt only if it finds the information to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. See Gorman v. Wolpoff & Abramson LLC, 584 F.3d 1147, 1154 (9th Cir. 2009). This court has held that a debt that has been charged off by a creditor does not support a finding of inaccuracy. See Hernandez v. Wells Fargo Fin. Nat’l Bank, 2014 U.S. Dist. 51854 (D. Nev. 2014) (quotations omitted).   The court finds that plaintiff’s claim is without merit. This court has previously stated that reporting agencies are entitled to report debts for seven years after discharge, as entitled by the plain language of 15 U.S.C 1681c. In Abeyta, this court held that 15 U.S.C § 1681c. “undermines any arguments that … debts discharges in bankruptcy [are] … unreportable.” Abeyta v. Bank of Am., 2016 WL 1298109, at *2 (D. Nev. 2016). Plaintiff’s bankruptcy discharge was confirmed on October 6, 2014; however, defendant is entitled to report the debt for a statutorily permitted seven years. Therefore, plaintiff’s complaint is dismissed.