Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

Class Actions

• Obtained summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, affirmed by the Ninth Circuit, in a national FCRA class action on behalf of a leading mortgage servicer. The case involved claims for alleged “impermissible credit pulls” after the plaintiff had received a bankruptcy discharge.
• Defended a national consumer reporting agency against claims by a mortgage broker that alleged that a subsidiary of the client misappropriated trade secrets belonging to it and other mortgage brokers. We obtained a motion to dismiss class certification, and the decision was affirmed by the Second Circuit.
• Defended a data management company in a national class action under the FCRA involving employee background checks related to the mailing of preliminary adverse action notices and taking of final adverse action against job applicants, with potential class exposure of billions of dollars.
• Obtained a precedent-setting summary judgment win for a consumer reporting agency in the Northern District of California in a case alleging that Native American tribal lenders did not have a permissible purpose for obtaining consumer reports.

Consumer Reporting Agencies

• Served as counsel for a national consumer reporting agency in more than 300 individual cases challenging all aspects of credit reporting, including reasonable procedures, accuracy of information reported, notice requirements, and dispute reinvestigation.
• Obtained a decision by the Fifth Circuit, on behalf of a national consumer reporting agency, to reverse class certification involving approximately 10 million consumers. Upon remand to the district court, we obtained summary judgment with respect to one of the plaintiffs, and the other five plaintiffs dismissed their claims.
• Represented a national credit reporting agency in a putative class action alleging violations of the FCRA by failing to accurately report consumers’ debts that were discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. The plaintiffs sought the certification of a nationwide class, and the court issued a decision denying plaintiffs’ motion.

Users

• Represented a publicly traded marketing company in a novel class action claim alleging that the company had transformed itself into a consumer reporting agency through the sale of public-record information.
• Defended a government contractor specializing in background investigations for a nationwide class action claim asserted under § 1681k(a)(1) of the FCRA. The case was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff’s counsel after discovery with no settlement.

Furnishers

• Defended a major financial institution facing multiple FCRA and state law defamation and negligence lawsuits related to furnishing information to consumer reporting agencies.
• Obtained a dismissal of claims in Virginia federal court on behalf of a national FCRA class arising from a loan servicer’s alleged failure to report accounts as “in dispute” in violation of FCRA § 1682s-2b.

Compliance Reviews

• Advised a consumer reporting agency of disclosure obligations under Section 1681g to modify language in file disclosures across the nation.
• Reviewed a national marketing company’s databases and systems for evaluation of whether the company was at risk of being labeled a “consumer reporting agency” and advised the company of ways to avoid such conclusion.
• Revised disclosure and adverse action processes for a national trucking company to ensure compliance with the FCRA’s requirements pertaining to employment background checks.
• Conducted “ban the box” 50-state surveys for national banks and other corporate entities to advise on employment background screening and hiring practices.