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FCRA -- 15 U.S.C. § 1681

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5th Cir. Says CRAs Failure to Include a Furnisher’s Positive Trade-Line in Consumer’s Report Did Not Give Rise to an FCRA Claim

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Hammer v. Equifax Info. Servs., No. 19-10199, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 28800 (5th Cir. Sep. 9, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that no claim arose under the FCRA for failure to report a trade line in the consumer’s consumer report. Hammer alleges that Equifax violated the FCRA because it had favorable information about his… Read More

FTC Opens the Floor for Comments to FCRA

by Scott J. Hyman |

The Federal Trade Commission announced that it is seeking comment on proposed changes that would bring several rules implementing parts of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in line with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). In separate Notices of Proposed Rule Making (NPRMs), which will be published in the Federal Register shortly, the FTC… Read More

District Court (Mich.) Declines to Exercise Jurisdiction over Auto Finance Company’s Counter-Claim in FCRA Case

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Tillman v. Mich. First Credit Union, No. 19-12860, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139056 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 5, 2020), Judge Lawson declined to exercise jurisdiction over a collection counter-claim in an FCRA case. Nonetheless, federal courts have had little trouble finding that supplemental jurisdiction is proper over counterclaims like the one pleaded here where the underlying dispute is between a… Read More

7th Cir. Says Reporting Multiple Debts Rather than Aggregating into Single Account Did Not Violate FCRA/FDCPA

by Scott J. Hyman |

  In Zablocki v. Merchs. Credit Guide Co., No. 19-2045, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 23737 (7th Cir. July 28, 2020), the Court of Appeals dismissed an FDCPA claim premised on a debt collectors failure to aggregate debts into a single account when reporting to the CRAs. Viewing Merchants's separate reporting of debts from the perspective of an unsophisticated but reasonable… Read More

District Court (N.Y.) Says Dispute Over Legal Status of Debt Between Furnisher and Consumer Did Not Create an “Inaccuracy” Under FCRA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Holland v. Chase Bank United States, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133642 (S.D.N.Y. July 28, 2020), Judge Engelmayer dismissed an FCRA claim against a Furnisher for absence of an “inaccuracy”, holding that Plaintiff’s claim that the debt was extinguished by the statute of limitations did not render the reporting of the debt inaccurate. Here, Holland asserts that Chase's furnishing of… Read More

District Court (Ill.) Says Furnisher Complied with the FCRA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Chuluunbat v. Cavalry Portfolio Servs., LLC, No. 20 C 164, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128931 (N.D. Ill. July 22, 2020), Judge Kocoras granted a furnisher’s motion to dismiss an FCRA claim. Given these letters, Cavalry argues that it was required to do nothing further than what it had already done to comply with its obligations under Section 1681s-2(b). Chuluunbat… Read More

CFPB Issues Guidance on Credit Reporting under the CARES Act

by David A. Berkley |

On June 16, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) released a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding furnishers and credit reporting agencies (CRAs) obligations under the CARES Act.  Here is a link to the FAQs: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_fcra_consumer-reporting-faqs-covid-19_2020-06.pdf Most critically, the FAQs clarified that when enforcing the amendments to FCRA under the CARES Act, the Bureau "expects furnishers and consumer… Read More

District Court (Minn.) Says CRAs Don’t Need to Report Every Tradeline, and Consumer States No FCRA Claim When a CRA Does Not Show a Furnisher’s Tradeline on the Consumer Report

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Krosch v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, No. 19-CV-2784 (NEB/KMM), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99150, at *5-9 (D. Minn. June 5, 2020), Judge Brasel held that a consumer stated no FCRA claim against a CRA due to the CRA's alleged failure not to report all furnishers' tradelines. Experian argues that the Complaint fails to allege either of these elements because… 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

7th Cir. Joins Other Circuits Finding that CRA Obligations Do Not Extend to Being Debt Tribunals For Purposes of Determining Accuracy of a Tradeline

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Denan v. Trans Union LLC, No. 19-1519, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 14930 (7th Cir. May 11, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a CRA, under the guise of determining accuracy, was not obligated to adjudicate the consumer claims that the debt was not valid. Here, plaintiffs contend not only that Trans Union had a… Read More

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