During these challenging times, Severson & Werson remains open and in full operation, consistent with the firm’s previously established contingency planning. While many of our attorneys and staff will be working remotely, as a firm, we continue in full operation. We are here to help, as always.

Effective, Experienced, Exceptional.

Firm Profile

Bankruptcy

Subscribe to Consumer Finance

Thank you for your desire to subscribe to Severson & Werson’s Consumer Finance Weblog. In order to subscribe, you must provide a valid name and e-mail address. This too will be retained on our server. When you push the “subscribe button”, we will send an electronic mail to the address that you provided asking you to confirm your subscription to our Weblog. By pushing the “subscribe button”, you represent and warrant that you are over the age of 18 years old, are the owner/authorized user of that e-mail address, and are entitled to receive e-mails at that address. Our weblog will retain your name and e-mail address on its server, or the server of its web host. However, we won’t share any of this information with anyone except the Firm’s employees and contractors, except under certain extraordinary circumstances described on our Privacy Policy and (About The Consumer Finance Blog/About the Appellate Tracker Weblog) Page. NOTICE AND AGREEMENT REGARDING E-MAILS AND CALLS/TEXT MESSAGES TO LAND-LINE AND WIRELESS TELEPHONES: By providing your contact information and confirming your subscription in response to the initial e-mail that we send you, you agree to receive e-mail messages from Severson & Werson from time-to-time and understand and agree that such messages are or may be sent by means of automated dialing technology. If you have your email forwarded to other electronic media, including text messages and cellular telephone by way of VoIP, internet, social media, or otherwise, you agree to receive my messages in that way. This may result in charges to you. Your agreement and consent also extend to any other agents, affiliates, or entities to whom our communications are forwarded. You agree that you will notify Severson & Werson in writing if you revoke this agreement and that your revocation will not be effective until you notify Severson & Werson in writing. You understand and agree that you will afford Severson & Werson a reasonable time to unsubscribe you from the website, that the ability to do so depends on Severson & Werson’s press of business and access to the weblog, and that you may still receive one or more emails or communications from weblog until we are able to unsubscribe you.

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

District Court (Cal.) Allows Post-Discharge FCRA Permissible Purpose Class Action to Proceed Against Debt Collector

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Trim v. CMRE Fin. Servs., No. 20-cv-451-AJB-LL, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48060, at *1-3 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2021), Judge Battaglia denied a motion to dismiss an FCRA permissible purpose class action. Around May 4, 2018, Plaintiff incurred a financial obligation ("Debt") to a third party, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego ("Rady"). (Doc. No. 1 at 5.) On September… Read More

9th Cir. Says FCRA Plaintiff Complaining About Post-Discharge Reporting of Auto Loan Failed Art. III Standing Requirements

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Hogue v Silver State Schools Credit Union, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of an FCRA case due to lack of Article III standing. First, Hogue has not shown actual harm to his concrete interests. The district court found that “no third parties made an adverse credit decision as to [Hogue] based on this disputed… Read More

District Court (Nev.) Says Reporting of BK Was Accurate under FCRA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Ku v. Trans, No. 2:18-CV-1714 JCM (BNW), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27474 (D. Nev. Feb. 18, 2020), Judge Mahan ruled against an FCRA Plaintiff alleging inaccurate reporting of a bankrupt account. Unsurprisingly, information in a consumer report is inaccurate if it is patently incorrect. Carvalho, 629 F.3d at 890. Even if information is "technically accurate," however, it may be… Read More

District Court (Az.) Says Consumer Report Was Not Inaccurate Because Trade-Line Failed to Report Bankruptcy Discharge When Consumer Report as a Whole Reported the Discharge

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Zemelka v. Trans, No. CV-18-04179-PHX-SMB, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91207 (D. Ariz. May 31, 2019), Judge Brnovich dismissed an FCRA claim against a CRA arising from bankruptcy reporting due to the absence of an inaccuracy. Plaintiff has two claims against Defendant Trans Union. The first is a clam under 15 U.S.C. §1681e(b) and the second under 15 U.S.C. §1681i.… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Cites Kim v. BMW, and Says Bankrupt FCRA Plaintiff Had Art. III Standing to Assert FCRA/CCRAA Claim Against Credit Union

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Hernandez v. Certified Fed. Credit Union, No. CV 18-10448-CJC (JEMx), 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79020, at *6-9 (C.D. Cal. May 9, 2019), Judge Carney allowed an FCRA claim to proceed despite a challenge to Plaintiff's Article III standing. Plaintiffs have alleged a sufficiently "concrete and [*7]  particularized" injury. Under the FCRA and CCCRAA, a credit report or credit information is… Read More

9th Circuit Says Bankrupt Debtors Complaining About the Reporting of their Bankrutcy Lacked Spokeo Standing

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Jaras v. Equifax Inc., No. 17-15201, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 8743 (9th Cir. Mar. 25, 2019), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the Article III standing of bankrupt debtors complaining about how their bankruptcy was reported on their consumer report. In holding [in Spokeo, Ed.] that the plaintiff did have standing, we emphasized that  the inaccuracies in… Read More

District Court (Nev.) Says Mortgage Company Did Not Lack a Permissible Purpose under the FCRA to “Soft” Pull a Consumer Report Post-Bankruptcy Discharge

by Scott J. Hyman |

In In re Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC Litig., No. 3:16-cv-00200-MMD-WGC, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25968 (D. Nev. Feb. 19, 2019), Judge Du found that a mortgage company had a permissible purpose to ‘soft’ pull a consumer report post-bankruptcy discharge.  The facts were as follows. Plaintiffs are Christopher Marino, Henry L. Farrin, Jr., Joshua E. Hardin, Kristen Hardin, Dionne Horton, Deonca… 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

1 2 3