FCRA -- 15 U.S.C. § 1681

In Hill v. Equifax Information Services, LLC, 2013 WL 6241043 (M.D.N.C. 2013), Judge Eagles found that FCRA provides no cause of action against a furnisher for failing to report a debtor’s positive trade-line to a consumer reporting agency.  The facts were as follows: Mr. Hill has alleged several causes of action against Dell, all of which stem from the absence… Read More

In Wright v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., --- Fed.Appx. ----, 2013 WL 6137482 (9th Cir. 2013), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in an unpublished opinion that an automobile customer who paid a small sum of money to set up his right to bring an NOI class action lacked UCL standing to bring the claim.  On April… Read More

In Callahan v. Equifax Information Services LLC, 2013 WL 5503949 (N.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Alsup found that Plaintiff could state a FCRA claim in an SSN-swap situation.  The proposed pleading alleged that Plaintiff’s credit reports indicated that a SunTrust mortgage account was associated with her. Plaintiff disputed the mortgage account and the CRAs notified SunTrust. Although plaintiff's SSN did not match… Read More

In Hillis v. Trans Union, LLC, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2013 WL 5272922 (E.D.Pa. 2013), Judge Davis allowed a FCRA claim to get past the pleading stage.  The dispute arose out of an automobile loan that Plaintiff and his ex-wife entered into during their marriage.In 2007, Plaintiff's marriage ended in divorce, and the Texas court's divorce decree awarded the underlying vehicle… Read More

Today, the CFPB issued a bulletin stating its intention to monitor complaints lodged against furnishers of credit information to consumer reporting agencies.  (here)  The CFPB explained how it expects furnishers to comply with FCRA: In general, with respect to disputes received by furnishers from CRAs, the CFPB expects each furnisher to comply with the FCRA by: (1) Maintaining a system… Read More

In Lovejoy v. Bank of America, N.A., 2013 WL 3360898 (N.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Ryu found sections 1785.25(b)-(c) of the CCRAA to be pre-empted by FCRA, even though section 1785.25(a) was not.  Plaintiffs argue that these sections not preempted because they are “informal remedies that compliment Section 1785.25(a),” which bars furnishers from re-porting incomplete or inaccurate information. (Pls.' Opp'n 9–10.) The… Read More

The Federal Trade Commission issued revised guidance designed to help businesses comply with the requirements of the Red Flags Rule, which protects consumers by requiring businesses to watch for and respond to warning signs or “red flags” of identity theft.   The guidance outlines which businesses – financial institutions and some creditors – are covered by the Rule and what is… Read More

The FTC's Weblog post is http://www.business.ftc.gov/blog/2013/06/fcras-furnisher-rule-its-all-about-accuracy-and-integrity   The FTC's  publication, "Consumer Reports: What Information Furnishers Need to Know" is at http://business.ftc.gov/documents/consumer-reports-what-information-furnishers-need-know Read More

In Atchison v. Hiway Federal Credit Union, 2013 WL 1175020 (D.Minn. 2013), Judge Frank found that a creditor’s charging-off of an account and issuing a 1099-C did not by itself discharge the debt, but further discovery should be allowed before summary judgment could be granted as to whether the creditor intended for the issuance to discharge the debt. In addition,… Read More

In Kayan v. Asset Acceptance, LLC, 2013 WL 1010554 (C.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Bernal found no failure to validate under the FDCPA when the Plaintiff failed to dispute the claim within the statutory 30-days. The uncontroverted evidence is that Palisades sent Plaintiff an initial demand letter on April 8, 2010. (Braun Decl., ¶ 5). Palisades did not receive any response to… Read More

In Iyigun v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC, 2013 WL 950947 (C.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Fitzgerald found that Plaintiff stated no FCRA claim because her claim that she did not owe the money did not demonstrate an inaccuracy in her report. First, Iyigun's claims for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (“CCRAA”)… Read More

In Vartanian v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, 2013 WL 877863 (C.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Otis Wright III addressed a litany of FCRA and FDCPA claims brought by the Kaas Law Group.  Judge Wright held that a FCRA Plaintiff need not plead that its dispute to the CRA was not frivilous; i.e. non-frivilousness is not an element of a FCRA claim. Contrary… Read More

In McDonald v. OneWest Bank, FSB, 2013 WL 858197 (W.D.Wash. 2013), Judge Lasnik found a triable issue of fact as to a furnisher’s reinvestigation under FCRA, finding that the furnisher can not rely solely on the information provided to it by the CRA when the furnisher has other information available to it to investigate. Plaintiff bears the burden of showing… Read More

In Thomas v. Nelson Watson & Associates, LLC, 2013 WL 781964 (C.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Marshall found that debt collection was a permissible purpose to pull a credit report under FCRA. 15 U.S.C. § 1681b limits the circumstances under which a credit reporting agency may furnish credit reports to an enumerated set of “permissible purposes.” If those purposes are exceeded, then… Read More

In Modica v. American Suzuki Financial Services Co., 2013 WL 656495 (D.Ariz. 2013), Judge Campbell appeared to hold that a consumer need not prove inaccuracy in order to state a FCRA re-investigation claim, as the accuracy question goes only to the question of damages. On December 8, 2005, Plaintiff and her daughter Jacklyn Modica executed an agreement for a lease… Read More

In Arutyunyan v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, 2013 WL 500452 (C.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Gutierrez found that Plaintiff’s counsel’s pleadings did not arise to the level of misconduct that would allow an award of reverse attorneys’ fees under FCRA and the FDCPA, but did under other federal law. Under FCRA, the Court explained: As a threshold matter, § 1681n(c) imposes attorneys' fees… Read More

In Ramirez v. Trans Union, LLC, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2012 WL 4954120 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Corley found no impediment to a Plaintiff maintaining a class action under both FCRA and the CCRAA.  The Action arose from a CRA’s alleged failure to include OFAC alerts in credit reports provided to consumers, even though such OFAC alerts allegedly appeared in consumer reports… Read More

In Iyigun v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC, 2013 WL 93114 (C.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Fitzgerald found no FCRA/CCRAA claim properly pleaded for wont of an inaccuracy. Iyigun's claims for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (“CCRAA”) fail because the FAC does not sufficiently plead the element of inaccurate credit reporting. The… Read More

In Dabney v. Total Relocation Services, LLC, Not Reported in A.3d, 2013 WL 68727 (N.J.Super.A.D. 2013), the New Jersey appellate court found, in an unpublished decision, complete preemption of common defamation claims by FCRA. Having canvassed the vast array of judicial opinions dealing with FCRA preemption, we conclude that the straight forward total preemption approach of these courts of appeal is most… Read More

In Mortimer v. Bank of America, N.A., 2013 WL 57856 (N.D.Cal. 2013), Judge Spero rejected a FCRA plaintiff's complaints about a creditor's reporting of his account through and after bankruptcy, but allowed leave to amend as to Plaintiff's CCRAA and UCL claims. Several courts, including two in this district involving closely analogous factual situations, have held that reports, after discharge, of delinquencies… Read More