In a new class action complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a Nevada man says that Fannie Mae illegally inquired into his consumer credit information.

According to the complaint in Bailey v. Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), Plaintiff had a home mortgage that was transferred to Fannie Mae.  Plaintiff subsequently filed for bankruptcy, and the mortgage debt was discharged through those bankruptcy proceedings.  Two years after the discharge, Plaintiff reviewed his credit report and allegedly discovered that Fannie Mae had submitted unauthorized credit report inquiries to Equifax almost three years after the mortgage debt had been discharged.

Plaintiff claims that Fannie Mae’s inquiry for his consumer report information violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act because the government-sponsored enterprise purportedly had no legitimate business need for the information.  Plaintiff seeks to bring a nationwide class of all persons whose consumer credit reports reflect an unauthorized inquiry by Fannie Mae after a bankruptcy charge within the past five years.

Troutman Sanders will continue to monitor the developments in this new FCRA class action.