15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)

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 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Financial Services, Inc., 2012 WL 5951490 (9th Cir. 2012), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in an unpublished decision that the district court properly dismissed a FCRA claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s–2(b) because the Plaintiff failed to plead that the CRA notified the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 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 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 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

In Drew v. Equifax Information Services, LLC --- F.3d ----, 2012 WL 3186110 (9th Cir. 2012), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a furnisher could have violated its statutory duty under FCRA to block all reporting following its investigation of the consumer's identity theft claim.  A consumer had reported to a credit bureau that his identity had… Read More

In Cousineau v. Unifund CCR Partners, 2012 WL 3135687 (D.Colo. 2012), Judge Arguello held that a Plaintiff still must demonstrate factual inaccuracy of a credit report regardless of how well a furnisher re-investigates a consumer dispute. Plaintiff contends that Defendant's investigations were unreasonable because Defendant failed to discover documents from Chase showing that Plaintiff asked to be removed from the… Read More

In Mortimer v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, Nat. Ass'n, 2012 WL 3155563 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Wilken addressed the impact of a now commonly-pleaded claim that a creditor continued to report late payments that were not made during a bankruptcy.  Judge Wilkens found that Plaintiffs failed to plead an inaccuracy – meaning that they actually made the payments during the bankruptcy… Read More

In Gauci v. Citi Mortg., 2012 WL 1535654 (C.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Otis Wright held that FCRA’s accuracy requirement is not designed to adjudicate a dispute between a furnisher, CRA, and a consumer. Plaintiff argues that “CMI had no right to have deemed Plaintiff a delinquent payer when CMI made the mistake of charging Plaintiff an incorrect amount of taxes.” (Opp'n… Read More

In Shap v. Capital One Financial Corp., 2012 WL 1080127 (E.D.Pa. 2012), Judge Rufe followed Saunders and Gorman to hold that a furnisher who fails, on re-investigation, to mark an account as ‘disputed’ can violate FCRA. In Gorman v. Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP, the Ninth Circuit found the reasoning in Saunders persuasive, holding that a furnisher's failure to report that… Read More

In Rodriguez v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC, 2012 WL 726474 (S.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Burns held that a debt collector, under the circumstances, has a ‘permissible purpose’ under FCRA to request a credit report from a consumer reporting agency: Rodriguez alleges that Cavalry pulled his credit report for an improper purpose. He is wrong. A debt collector may access a consumer's… Read More

In Reed v. First Premier Bank, 2011 WL 6153100 (D.S.D. 2011), Judge Schreier found for a furnisher against a consumer's claim that the furnisher failed to report the account as disputed.  Judge Schreier explained: A furnisher cannot be held liable under section 1681s–2(b) simply for failing to report that a debt is disputed. Rather, a furnisher may only be liable if the… Read More

In Rydell v. Servco Auto Windward, 2011 WL 5506088 (D.Hawai'i 2011), Judge Seabright found that a car dealer did not violate FCRA in a spot-delivery situation by making multiple inquiries on a consumer’s credit report or by obtaining a credit report from all-three credit reporting agencies.  Judge Seabright explained:   The scope of Servco's “permissible purpose” extends beyond accessing a… Read More

In Corby v. American Exp. Co., 2011 WL 4625719 (C.D.Cal. 2011), Judge Wright found that, under Nelson, a consumer can only recover under FCRA for a section 1681s-2(b) claim – meaning, the consumer must first dispute the claim with the credit reporting agency.  Judge Wright as a corollary therefore held that a consumer can not recover for wrongful or inaccurate… Read More

In Boggio v. USAA Federal Sav. Bank, 2011 WL 3876525 (S.D.Ohio 2011), Judge Weber found a credit union’s re-investigation reasonable under FCRA where the Plaintiff claimed that the vehicle purchase contract on which he was a co-buyer was procured without his consent, explaining:   “[D]istrict courts that have considered the issue have consistently recognized that the creditor's investigation must be… Read More

In Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass'n, 2011 WL 3880411 (N.D.Cal. 2011), Judge Wilken addressed Plaintiff’s summary judgment on her claim alleging a negligent violation of FCRA.  The procedural history is as follows:   In its original motion for summary judgment, PCA asserted that, by obtaining Plaintiff's credit report to collect on the deficiency, it did so in connection with the… Read More