Bankruptcy Reporting

In Muehlenberg v. Experian Information Solutions, et. al., 2017 WL 6622837, at *3–4 (N.D.Cal., 2017), Judge Orrick dismissed an FCRA case premised on allegedly inaccurate reporting of an account as it passed through Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings. The Chase Defendants next contend that a review of the entire challenged report “in context” shows that Muehlenberg has not plausibly alleged any inaccuracy… Read More

Scott Hyman, Don Cram, and Bernie Kornberg published an article in the Conference on Consumer Finance Law Quarterly entitled Hyman, Cram, & Kornberg, The Intersection of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Federal Consumer Bankruptcy Laws, 70 Conf. Con. Fin. L. Q 113 (Summer 2017). A copy of the article can be found here. Read More

In Mamisay, et. al. v. TD Bank USA, et. al., 2017 WL 3387476, at *3–4 (N.D.Cal. Aug. 7, 2017), Judge Gonzalez-Rogers dismissed some claims but allowed some to proceed under the FCRA. As analyzed in the Court's prior ruling, the reporting of balances due, or past due, does not constitute an “actual inaccuracy” simply because a bankruptcy proceeding is pending. Biggs… Read More

In Vandonzel v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, et. al., No. 17-CV-01819-LHK, 2017 WL 3267571 (N.D. Cal., July 31, 2017), Judge Koh denied a furnisher's FRCP 12b6 Motion in an FCRA case. However, Gorman does not support Chase’s argument that an investigation of disputed information is narrowly limited to the exact wording of the dispute letter. In Gorman, the Ninth Circuit… Read More

In In re Keller, BAP No. EC–16–1152–BJuTa, Bk. No. 12–22391, 2017 WL 2312849  (9th Cir. BAP May 26, 2017), the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit BAP held that a creditor did not violate the automatic stay or the order confirming the debtor's Chapter 13 plan by reporting a debt to a credit reporting agency as overdue or delinquent during… Read More

Anderson v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2017 WL 914394, at *3–6 (N.D.Cal., 2017), Judge Freeman dismissed an FCRA claim grounded in a furnisher's and CRA's Ch. 13 credit reporting. Experian argues that even if Plaintiff had alleged his FCRA claim under § 1681i, the claim would fail because Plaintiff has not alleged facts showing that Experian's credit reporting was inaccurate.… Read More

In Keller v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2017 WL 130285, at *6–8 (N.D.Cal., 2017), Judge Koh dismissed a FCRA plaintiff's argument that her creditor's reporting of an account during bankruptcy was inaccurate. Experian and Wells Fargo argue Plaintiff's FAC must be dismissed because Plaintiff fails to identify any inaccurate or misleading statements in Plaintiff's credit report. In response, Plaintiff argues… Read More

In Mestayer v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc, 2016 WL 7188015, at *3 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Chen dismissed an FCRA case based on a furnisher's post-bankruptcy reporting. Even assuming that deviating from Metro 2 could be misleading (and hence actionable, see Gorman, 584 F.3d at 1163) when the underlying information is accurate, the TAC fails to adequately allege that CapOne's reporting… Read More

In Watts v. Diversified Adjustment Service, Inc., 2016 WL 6025496, at *1–2 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Freeman granted a Motion to Dismiss, but granted leave to amend. Claim 1 is asserted under the FCRA, which is titled “Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies.” 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b). The FCRA provides a private right of action under § 1681s-2(b) against… Read More

In Robinson v. TransUnion, LLC, 2016 WL 5339807, at *3–4 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Davila found that a FCRA Plaintiff stated a claim for how a debt was reported as it passed through bankruptcy. Looking at the Complaint, the same allegations underlie both the FCRA claim and the CCRAA claim. Plaintiff alleges he filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection on March… Read More

In Biggs v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2016 WL 5235043, at *2–4 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Davila dismissed a FCRA Plaintiff's claim with leave to amend. Here, Plaintiff alleges she filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection on December 10, 2014, and that a plan was confirmed on March 21, 2015. Compl., Dkt. No. 1, at ¶ 5. Plaintiff then ordered a… Read More

In Blakeney v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2016 WL 4270244, at *4–6 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Koh dismissed a FCRA claim grounded in debt collectors' reporting of an account passing through Chapter 13 bankruptcy. As to Plaintiff's first theory of liability, the FCRA requires a furnisher to “conduct an investigation with respect to the disputed information” after the furnisher receives notice… Read More

In Moses v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2016 WL 3670068, at *1 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Freeman allowed an FCRA bankruptcy-reporting case past the pleadings.  The Plaintiff alleged that he filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in January 2015; his Chapter 13 plan was confirmed in May 2015; credit reports obtained in July 2015 showed that AFNI was reporting a balance… Read More

In Hughes v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2016 WL 3670051, at *2-3 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Freeman found that a FCRA plaintiff had not adequately pleaded an "inaccuracy" to sustain an FCRA claim. IQ Data contends that the FAC does not allege facts showing a credit reporting inaccuracy. The Court agrees. Plaintiff alleges that IQ Data reported Plaintiff's account as being… Read More

In Radney v. Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC, 2016 WL 3551677, at *3 (N.D.Ill., 2016), Judge Darrah denied a motion to dismiss a FCRA claim arising out of a creditor's post-discharge credit reporting. Bayview argues that Plaintiff's allegations are refuted by the documents attached to his Amended Complaint. Specifically, Bayview references a corrected credit report dated September 4, 2015, from Experian,… Read More

In Jackson v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., et. al., 2016 WL 2910027, at *3-5 (N.D.Ill., 2016), Judge Kennelly found that a Chapter 13 debtor stated a claim that a loan servicer's post-Chapter 13 bankruptcy reporting remained inaccurate even after the furnisher made corrections because it did not correct all the inaccuracies in the consumer's report. In count 2 of his complaint, Jackson… Read More

In Blakeney v. Experian Information Solutions, 2016 WL 1535085, at *1-2 (N.D.Cal., 2016), Judge Koh grants a Motion to Dismiss filed by a FCRA furnisher who was alleged to have failed to properly re-investigate a dispute regarding an account that passed through Chapter 13. On November 7, 2014, Plaintiff filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”) ¶ 5. “Chapter… Read More

In Asufrin v. Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation, 2016 WL 1056669, at *1 (N.D.Ill., 2016), Judge Aspen allowed a bankruptcy FCRA claim to proceed past the pleadings stage.  In Asufrin, the Plaintiff alleged that RoundPoint mismanaged the credit reporting of her mortgage loan after she obtained a bankruptcy discharge.  Despite Plaintiff's order of discharge, her Experian credit report revealed that RoundPoint was reporting the… Read More