In Consumer Data Industry Ass’n v. King, — F.3d —-, 2012 WL 1573563 (10th Cir. 2012), the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that the consumer reporting agency trade group – the Consumer Data Industry Association – had standing to challenge New Mexico’s identity theft/credit reporting laws as preempted by FCRA. The CDIA’s challenge to New Mexico’s law will now proceed in the district court.
New Mexico enacted a law making it easier for victims of identity theft to expunge negative information from their credit reports. Before the law took effect, the Consumer Data Industry Association (“CDIA”), a trade group comprised of hundreds of consumer-data companies, brought a pre-enforcement challenge contending the law is preempted by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). The CDIA sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the New Mexico Attorney General, who, along with aggrieved consumers, has authority to enforce the law through civil suit. Concluding equitable relief against the Attorney General would not adequately redress CDIA’s injuries, the district court dismissed the case as non-justiciable. We vacate the district court’s judgment and remand for further proceedings.