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8th Cir. Says CRAs Need Not Scour Public Records or Hire Individuals with Legal Training to Preemptively Determine the Validity of Reported Debts

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Rydholm v. Equifax Info. Servs. LLC, No. 20-3425, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22691, at *5-7 (8th Cir. Aug. 16, 2022), the Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit held that the FCRA's standards applicable to the CRAs are not strict liability. "CRAs must look beyond information furnished to them when it is inconsistent with [their] own records, contains a… Read More

Despite 9th Circuit’s Decision in Gross, District Court (Wash.) Finds Legal Dispute Regarding Debt’s Validity Did Not Create “Inaccuracy” Under FCRA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Riser v. Cent. Portfolio Control, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109545, Case No. 3:21-cv-05238-LK (W.D. Wash. June 21, 2022), Judge King dismissed an FCRA claim against a consumer reporting agency over the propriety of reporting a medical debt which the Plaintiff claimed that she did not owe because she was covered by Washington's Medicaid plan. Relying on the Ninth… Read More

District Court (Pa.) Says CRA’s Reporting Account As Closed/Zero Balance/Past Due Is Neither Inconsistent Nor Inaccurate

by Scott J. Hyman |

Smith v. Trans Union LLC, No. 20-4233, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 198812 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 14, 2021), Judge Savage dismissed an FCRA case premised on an alleged inconsistency in reporting an account as closed with a zero balance but also a past due balance. The issue in these Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) actions is whether a consumer reporting agency's… Read More

District Court (Ala.) Finds No FCRA Inaccuracy For Auto Finance Company’s Reporting Payment Amount on Closed/Zero’d Account

by Scott J. Hyman |

In  Bruce v. Am. Honda Fin. Corp., No. 3:20-cv-00128-ECM, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107187, at *9 (M.D. Ala. June 8, 2021), Judge Marks ruled against a FCRA Plaintiff on the claim that identification of the amount monthly payment on a closed, zero-balanced account is "inaccurate" and suggests to users that the account is open. Now pending before the Court is… Read More

District Court (Utah) Dismisses Plaintiff’s FCRA Claim Based on Reporting Bankrupt Account

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Layton v. Experian Info. Sols., Inc., No. 4:20-cv-00029-DN-PK, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205221, at *2-3 (D. Utah Nov. 2, 2020), Judge Nuffer found no inaccuracy in the way that Discover was reporting the Plaintiff's bankrupt account. Layton sent a letter, certified, return receipt, to Experian disputing and requesting the above inaccurate information be removed as follows: "Immediately correct this… Read More

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

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

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

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

District Court (Ga.) Rejects “Scheduled Monthly Payment” Inaccuracy Claim under FCRA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Marshall v. Robins Fin. Credit Union, No. 5:19-CV-260 (MTT), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22274 (M.D. Ga. Feb. 10, 2020), Judge Treadwell found against an FCRA Plaintiff in a ‘scheduled monthly payment’ claim. Robins argues that it did not furnish an inaccurate tradeline because the monthly payment amount of $524.00 is an accurate "historical term" for an account that it… Read More

District Court (Tenn.) Says Scheduled Monthly Payment Issue Did Not Give Rise to FCRA Claim

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Cowley v. Equifax Info. Servs., No. 2:18-cv-02846-TLP-cgc, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 193522 (W.D. Tenn. Nov. 7, 2019, the District Court refused to allow a scheduled monthly payment issue case to proceed under the FCRA. The only evidence Plaintiff [*9]  brings to defeat UCFSC's motion for summary judgment is that the industry guideline, the CRRG, suggests that when a furnisher of… Read More

District Court (Tex.) Finds No Inaccuracy in Reporting Closed Automobile Account

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Rodriguez v. Trans Union Llc & Santander Cosumer United States, No. 1:19-CV-379-LY, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186016 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 28, 2019), Magistrate Judge Yeakel found no inaccuracy in how a closed automobile account was being reported.  The Plaintiff claimed that her credit report erroneously stated that she owed a monthly payment of $345 on an account (the "Santander Account")… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Addresses Ch. 13 BK Reporting under the FCRA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Galea v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 2:19-cv-00386-JAM-AC, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129028 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 1, 2019), Judge Mendez addressed the proper reporting of Chapter 13 bankrupt accounts. Galea filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in September 2012. FAC ¶ 39. Over the next five years, she made all the payments required under her bankruptcy plan. FAC ¶¶ 42-49.… Read More

6th Cir. Confirms that Inaccuracy of Reporting is a Threshold Requirement of a Re-investigation Claim Against a Furnisher

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Chandler v. Peoples Bank & Tr. Co., No. 18-5361, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 12100, at *13-14 (6th Cir. Apr. 24, 2019), an FCRA plaintiff complained that a creditor and it's assignee breached a bankruptcy re-affirmation agreement, resulting in inaccurate reporting.  Once the 6th Circuit found that there was no breach, the Court of Appeals found that no FCRA claim… Read More

District Court (Nev.) Holds that Which Should Be Self-Evident: An FCRA Claim Requires Proof of “Inaccuracy” to State a Claim

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Garcia v. Equifax Info. Servs. LLC, No. 2:17-cv-03123-JAD-VCF, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58217, at *2-5 (D. Nev. Apr. 4, 2019), Judge Dorsey granted a motion to dismiss, rejecting an FCRA plaintiff's claim that no inaccuracy was required. Under FCRA, a credit reporting agency (CRA) must "conduct a reasonable reinvestigation" upon receiving a dispute notice from a consumer concerning the… Read More

District Court (Wis.) Says State Law’s Unique Receivership Program Similar to Bankruptcy Did Not Discharge Debt in a Way that Continued Reporting Constituted an “Inaccuracy” that Could Have Been Discovered on Re-investigation

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Garland v. Marine Credit Union, 2018 WL 5313769, at *3–4 (E.D.Wis., 2018), Judge Griesbach dismissed an FCRA claim on the basis that there was no inaccuracy. Plaintiff claims that Defendants violated the FCRA by failing to conduct a reasonable investigation of the disputed Marine and World debts and refusing to correct the inaccurate information contained in her credit report.… Read More

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