Cindy D. Hanson

Cindy focuses her practice on class action defense. She has handled more than a thousand matters under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), including hundreds of class actions. Her practice includes the representation of consumer reporting agencies, entities who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies, and employers who use background check information for employment purposes. In addition, she has significant experience representing companies defending class actions under consumer protection statutes and state common law.

• Represented a criminal background check company in a putative class action alleging that the client provided inaccurate information to a reseller that was used in connection with the plaintiff’s application for employment. The plaintiff alleged a willful violation of section 1681e(b) of the FCRA and sought to certify a nationwide class. The case settled on an individual basis.
• Represented a national credit reporting agency in a class action and obtained a decision by the Fifth Circuit 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 thereafter dismissed their claims.
• Represented a national credit reporting agency in a putative class action involving alleged violations of the FCRA with respect to the issuance of credit reports for insurance purposes. Class certification was granted to only 125 consumers and was thereafter favorably settled prior to trial.
• Represented a national credit reporting agency in claims against a mortgage broker who 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.
• Represented a national credit reporting agency where plaintiffs sought certification of a nationwide class consisting of consumers holding a major credit card, alleging that the client and other credit reporting agencies violated the FCRA by allegedly substituting consumers’ “high balance” for their “credit limits” when reporting consumers’ accounts. We obtained summary judgment after two years of litigation.
• 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 action and the court issued a tentative decision denying plaintiffs’ motion for Class Certification. The case settled shortly thereafter but the case is ongoing in a series of appeals to the Ninth Circuit and remands to the District Court regarding the sufficiency of the settlement.
• Represented a national credit reporting agency in a putative class action where the plaintiff alleged he was forced to pay for a copy for his free yearly file disclosure. The case was settled.
• Represented a national grocer in a putative class action where the plaintiffs alleged that the grocer violated the FCRA in connection with conducting criminal background checks on prospective and current employees. The case settled.
• Represented an apartment management company in a class action alleging that it violated section 1681b by failing to give proper notice before taking adverse action against the plaintiff. The case settled.
• Represented a criminal background checks company in a putative class action alleging that the client violated sections 1681k, 1681g, 1681i, and 1681e(b) of the FCRA. The plaintiffs sought to represent multiple nationwide class and various subclasses, but the case settled on a class-wide basis.
• Represented a criminal background checks company in a putative class action alleging that the client violated sections 1681k, 1681g, 1681i, and 1681e(b) of the FCRA. The plaintiffs sought to represent multiple nationwide class and various subclasses, but the case settled on a class-wide basis.
• Represented a criminal background checks company in a putative class action alleging that the client provided an inaccurate consumer report to a reseller that was used in connection with the plaintiff’s application for employment. The plaintiff alleged a willful violation of section 1681e(b) of the FCRA and sought to certify a nationwide class. The case settled on an individual basis.
• Represented a criminal background checks company in a putative class action where the plaintiff alleged that the client willfully violated the FCRA when it prepared reports on prospective employees. The case settled on an individual basis.
• Represented a national background check company in a putative class action where the plaintiff alleged that the client willfully violated the FCRA when it prepared reports on prospective employees. The case settled on an individual basis.
• Represented a national background check company in a case where the plaintiff alleged sections 1681d(d)(3) and 1681e(b) of the FCRA when it provided consumer reports to potential employers containing felony records allegedly not belonging to the plaintiff. The plaintiff sought to certify a nationwide class, but the case settled on an individual basis.
• Represented a national background check company in a putative class action alleging violations of the FCRA by failing to maintain reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy and by failing to follow “strict procedures” to assure that the information it reported was complete and up to date. The case settled on an individual basis.
• Represented a national background check company in a putative class action alleging violations of the FCRA by failing to maintain reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. After briefing both a motion to dismiss and a motion to strike the class claims, the case settled on an individual basis.
• Represented a national background check company in a putative class action alleging violations of the FCRA by both failing to maintain reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy and by failing to follow strict procedures to assure that reported information was complete and up-to-date.
• Representing a national background check company in a multi-plaintiff putative class action alleging violations of the FCRA by failing to maintain reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy and by including outdated non-criminal information on consumer reports. The case is in discovery.
• Representing a specialty consumer reporting agency as nationwide counsel on any FCRA action. In that capacity, we handled an FCRA class action in 2013 that settled on an individual basis and have litigated and resolved nearly a dozen individual cases. We have also been recently retained as counsel in two putative nationwide class actions, each of which is currently pending.
• Represented a consumer reporting agency against allegations that it violated sections 1681k and 1681c of the FCRA when it provided certain adverse information to potential employers that was more than seven years old. The case was settled.
• Represented a consumer reporting agency against allegations that it violated sections of the FCRA when it provided an allegedly inaccurate consumer report on the plaintiff to her prospective employer and failed to provide notice of the issuance of the report to the plaintiff. The case was settled.

• Best Lawyers in America®: Commercial Litigation (2024-2026)
• Achieved an AV^® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
• Selected as a Georgia “Rising Star” in Class Action/Mass Torts and Civil Litigation Defense by SuperLawyers Magazine, (2008-2009)