District Court (Cal.) Says Inaccuracy is a Pleading Pre-Requisite to a FCRA Claim

In Littleton v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2015 WL 4638308, at *2 (N.D.Cal., 2015), Judge Davila dismissed a FCRA claim, with leave to amend, because the Plaintiff failed to allege the inaccuracy.

SunTrust argues the FCRA claim is insufficient because Plaintiff failed to describe what information SunTrust allegedly communicated to the consumer reporting agencies, as well as why this information was inaccurate. The court agrees these facts are necessary to state a claim under § 1681s–2(b) that is plausible rather than merely speculative. See Lyles v. Ford Motor Credit Co., No. SACV 12–1736 AG (RNBx), 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58804, at *11, 2013 WL 987723 (C.D.Cal. Mar. 11, 2013) (“Courts have held that consumers asserting Section 1681s–2(b) violations based on ‘furnishing inaccurate information [ ] must identify which information is inaccurate.’ ”). Plaintiff’s unspecific allegations alluding to “misleading and or inaccurate balances or past due balances owed” with regard to some unidentified account is not enough for SunTrust, or any other furnisher defendant for that matter, to understand the basis for any potential liability.