In Simonyan v. Ally Financial Inc., 2013 WL 45453 (C.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Walter required a Plaintiff -- one of a number of Plaintiffs who've sued multiple creditors in the Central District on bald factual FCRA allegations -- must plead more. In Iqbal, the Supreme Court held that “[a] pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions' or ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements… Read More
In Mann v. Wells Fargo Bank, 2012 WL 3727369 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Ryu found defamations completely preempted by FCRA. The facts, arising out of a mortgage loan, were as follows: In July 2005, Plaintiffs obtained first and second home mortgages in the amounts of $484,000 and $121,000, respectively, on their home and real property located in El Dorado Hills. (Compl.¶ 11.) Wells… Read More
In Longman v. Wachovia Bank, N.A. --- F.3d ----, 2012 WL 6604538 (2d Cir. 2012), the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit followed Nelson to find no private right of action under 15 USC 1681s-2(a). Although we have not previously addressed whether the Fair Credit Reporting Act provides a private cause of action for violations of § 1681s–2(a), the statute plainly restricts… Read More
In Giovanni v. Bank of America, Nat. Ass'n 2012 WL 6599681 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Beeler found that a FCRA Plaintiff failed to plead an inaccuracy in its reporting of a consumer's account that went through bankruptcy. The facts were as follows: Plaintiff, Katheryn Giovanni currently resides in Chatham County, Georgia, but lived in California during the relevant times in the complaint.… Read More
In Mortimer v. Bank of America, N.A. 2012 WL 6218004 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Spero addressed the interplay between bankrupt debt and credit reporting, finding that Plaintiff stated no FCRA or CCRAA claim. The facts were as follows: Plaintiff Mark Mortimer (“Plaintiff”) brings this action against Defendant Bank of America, N.A., (“Defendant”) FN1 seeking redress for Defendant's alleged inaccurate reporting of his… Read More
In Manukyan v. Cach, LLC, 2012 WL 6199938 (C.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Klausner granted defendant’s Motion(s) to Dismiss as well as finding that Plaintiff could state facts sufficient to obtain leave to amend. The Court noted that this action is among many similar fair-debt collection and credit-report lawsuits filed by Plaintiff's law firm, Kaass Law, in the Central District. On September… Read More
In Fleischmann v. Care Credit, 2012 WL 6082893 (C.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Pregerson found parts of California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act pre-empted by FCRA. Plaintiff financed her refractive surgery, and ended up with a dispute over whether she’d paid it in full or not. She alleged a host of claims, one of which was under the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act. Judge… Read More
In Morse v. USAA Federal Sav. Bank, 2012 WL 6020090 (D.Nev. 2012), Judge Dawson addressed a common credit reporting issue arising out of a dispute between former spouses over a credit card account. The Plaintiff, the ex-wife, was an authorized user of a USAA Federal Savings Bank credit card initially issued to her former husband. Morse was divorced on March… Read More
In Saccato v. Discover Financial Services, Inc., 2012 WL 5951490 (9th Cir. 2012), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in an unpublished decision that the district court properly dismissed a FCRA claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s–2(b) because the Plaintiff failed to plead that the CRA notified the furnisher of the dispute. The district court properly concluded… Read More
In Grantham v. Bank of America, N.A., 2012 WL 5904729 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge James held that a Plaintiff stated a claim against a Bank for post-bankruptcy discharge credit reporting. In February 2011, Grantham sent a dispute letter to Experian requesting an investigation of the 1051 Account, disputing the alleged delinquencies reported in her credit report while her bankruptcy petition was… Read More
In Balikian v. Ally Financial, Inc., 2012 WL 5518853 (C.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Wu catalogued the well document history of a FCRA plaintiff’s lawyer in the Central District for filing FCRA complaints. Plaintiff's counsel, Arshak Bartoumian, has a recent and well-documented history of failing to oppose pending motions, failing to appear at hearings, filing last-minute motions for leave to amend on… Read More
In Young v. LVNV Funding, LLC, 2012 WL 5508407 (E.D.Mo. 2012), Judge Fleissig held that a consumer need not plead that a CRA informed the furnisher of the dispute in order to state a FCRA claim. Courts differ on whether a plaintiff must plead with certainty that notice was given by the CRA to the furnisher and the Eighth Circuit… Read More
In Pyle v. First Nat. Collection Bureau, 2012 WL 5464357 (E.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Oberto dismissed a FCRA claim asserting that a debt collector did not have a permissible purpose to pull a credit report for purposes of debt collection. Plaintiff asserts that a consumer report cannot be obtained for the purposes of collecting a debt on a credit card account,… Read More
In Noel v. Bank of America, 2012 WL 5464608 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Conti dismissed a consumer’s FDCPA and FCRA claims against a Bank. The facts were as follows: Plaintiff alleges that she paid off any debt she may once have owed to BOA. Compl. ¶ 13. She alleges that, in 2009, she sought assistance from counsel to address BOA's allegedly… Read More
In Keshishian v. AFNI Inc., 2012 WL 5378819 (C.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Feess dismissed Plaintiff’s claims as improvidently pleaded. Plaintiff Marine A. Keshishian alleges that Defendants Afni, Inc., Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC, Equable Ascent Financial, LLC (“Equable”), and Union Adjustment Company, Inc. are engaged in unfair debt collection practices. (Docket No. 3 [Compl.].) Specifically, Plaintiff alleges violations of the Federal Fair… Read More
In Carson v. Bank of America, N.A., 2012 WL 5041359 (E.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Englund found that FCRA pre-empted Plaintiff’s tort claims for false light and invasion of privacy. Plaintiffs' seventh claim is for false light invasion of privacy. Plaintiffs allege, specifically, that Defendant “reported Plaintiffs late on their mortgage payments, when they were not in fact late, and initiating foreclosure… Read More
In Ramirez v. Trans Union, LLC, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2012 WL 4954120 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Corely allowed a CCRAA claim to proceed against a CRA simultaneously with a FCRA claim, and found that FCRA’s prohibition against injunctive relief did not apply to CCRAA claims. The District Court found no impediment to simultaneously maintaining CCRAA and FCRA claims. The only California… Read More
In Fregoso v. Wells Fargo Dealer Services, Inc., 2012 WL 4903291 (C.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Otero allowed a FCRA identity theft case to go to the jury against a third party debt collector. As to the identity theft claim under FCRA, Judge Otero found that no FTC Affidavit of Theft was required: PCC argues that if Plaintiff is a victim of… Read More
In King v. Bank of America, N.A., 2012 WL 4685993 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Spero found a bankrupt Plaintiff’s FCRA claims to be outside of Walls v. Wells Fargo. The facts were as follows: On July 21, 2010, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California granted Plaintiff a discharge of all dischargeable debts pur-suant to 11 U.S.C. §… Read More
In Harrold v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2012 WL 4097708 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Alsup found that FCRA still pre-empts other parts of the CCRAA that were not addressed by Gorman. The FCRA provides that “[n]o requirement or prohibition may be imposed under the laws of any State ... relating to the responsibilities of persons who furnish information to consumer reporting… Read More
