On December 15, 2022, the parties in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez — a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2021 to resolve questions of Article III standing — obtained final approval of their class settlement agreement. The settlement resolved claims brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) alleging that
On November 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued two reports, highlighting what the CFPB perceives to be forms of errors that frequently occur in tenant background checks and the impacts the CFPB believes that those errors can have on potential renters.
The “Tenant Background Check Markets Report” (Market Report) provides a
Recently, the Ninth Circuit joined its sister circuit, the Eleventh, in vacating class settlements on standing grounds. In Harvey v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, the court vacated the district court’s approval of the settlement agreement and remanded with instructions that the district court assess each individual class member for sufficient injury.
The litigation
What standard should courts use to determine whether information contained in a consumer’s credit report is inaccurate or misleading? According to the Third Circuit in a recent precedential decision, the standard should be that of the “reasonable reader,” not a “reasonable creditor,” i.e., not an individual or entity sophisticated in the art of reading
On June 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued an advisory opinion focused on consumer debt collectors and the convenience fees they charge for some payments, such as online or by phone.
Convenience fees — common in many types of financial transactions — have recently been categorized as “junk fees” by the
Join Troutman Pepper Consumer Financial Services Partner Chris Willis and fellow Partners Cindy Hanson and Tim St. George as they discuss current trends in Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation.
Both Cindy and Tim are recognized nationally on issues related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Cindy has handled more than a thousand matters under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including hundreds of class actions. Tim has extensive experience handling Fair Credit Reporting Act matters, including those related to employment background screening, as well as class-action litigation.
On May 3, Judge Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a class certification decision in a consumer data breach multidistrict litigation case against an international hotel and resort management company, becoming one of the few district courts to certify Rule 23(b)(3) classes in this type of case. The litigation
Joining the Ninth Circuit on one side of a post-Spokeo circuit split, the Eighth Circuit recently held a plaintiff lacked standing to pursue her Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) claims when she conceded her consumer report was accurate and alleged no concrete harm from three technical FCRA violations.
On April 4, in Schumacher v.
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a Central District of California decision, denying a motion to remand and granting a motion to dismiss in Tailford, No. 20-56344, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 5357, at *11-12 (9th Cir. Mar. 1, 2022). Plaintiffs Theresa Tailford, Sanford Buckles, and Jeffrey Ruderman sued a national credit bureau for FCRA violations,
On March 18, the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (NCRAs) — announced plans to change how medical debt will be reported on credit reports. The joint measures will result in the removal of nearly 70% of medical collection debt records from credit reports.
The announcement included the following three major