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Willfulness

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11th Cir. Says Proof of Actual Damages Not Required for Willful FCRA Violation

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Santos v. Healthcare Revenue Recovery Grp., LLC., No. 22-11187, 2023 WL 7289662, at *1–2 (11th Cir. Nov. 6, 2023), the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed the district's finding that an FCRA class could not be certified due to individual inquiries required for each putative classmember.  The Court of Appeals found that proof of individual damage is… Read More

District Court (Wis.) Discusses “Wilfullness” Standard, Grants Partial Summary Judgment to FCRA Plaintiff against Furnisher

by Scott J. Hyman |

In George v. Summit Credit Union, No. 21-CV-259-JPS, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112739, at *14-21 (E.D. Wis. June 27, 2022), Judge Stadtmueller granted partial summary judgment to an FCRA Plaintiff against a furnisher, leaving for further litigation only the issue of recoverable damages. The FCRA provides that a furnisher (such as Summit) can be held liable to a consumer for… Read More

7th Cir. Holds that Post-Discharge Bankrupt Debtor Had Standing to Pursue “Impermissible Purpose” FCRA Case, But Lacked Damages to Bring a “Negligent” Violation and Lacked Proof to Bring a “Willful” Claim

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Persinger v. Sw. Credit Sys., L.P., No. 21-1037, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 37986, at *16-17 (7th Cir. Dec. 22, 2021), the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit affirmed dismissal of an FCRA "Permissible Purpose" case arising out of a post-discharge credit pull.  The facts were as follows: Persinger and her husband jointly filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Their… Read More

9th Cir. Finds that CRA Accurately Reported Short-Sales Despite Interpretational Error by End-User

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Shaw v. Experian Information Systems, 2018 DJDAR 4948, 2018 WL 2424105 (9th Cir. May 29, 2018), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Experian’s reporting of Plaintiffs’ short sales during the real estate market crash between 2008 to 2012 to subscribers of credit information did not violate 15 U.S.C.§ 1681e or § 1681i of the FCRA… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Finds CRA Neither Willfully Nor Negligently Reported Plaintiff’s Post-Bankruptcy Status; Confirms that FCRA Affords No Injunctive Relief; Limits Recovery for Negligent Violation

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Gadomski v. Equifax Information Services, Inc., 2018 WL 2096862, at *4–6 (E.D.Cal., 2018), the District Court found that no willful violation of the CRA could lie absent prior notice that the information was inaccurate or that the information came from an unreliable source.  Here, Defendant does not dispute that the information reported on Plaintiff’s credit report was inaccurate. (See ECF… Read More

4th Cir. Finds Furnisher’s Reinvestigation to be Improper, but Reverses Puni’s Award as Constitutionally Excessive

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Daugherty v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, 2017 WL 3172422, (4th Cir. July 24, 2017), the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the jury's finding of improper reinvestigation and willfulness against a furnisher, but found the punitive damages award to be constitutionally excessive. We must affirm the district court's judgment regarding Ocwen's liability for willful misconduct if there was sufficient… Read More