In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit reached the alarming conclusion that plaintiffs alleging inaccuracies on credit reports that lowered their credit ratings, had no constitutional standing to sue the credit reporting agencies under the FCRA because they could not show “that they had tried to engage in or were imminently planning to engage in any transactions for which the alleged misstatements in their credit reports made or would make any material difference.” Jaras v. Equifax, No. 17-15201(9th Cir. March 25, 2019) (unpublished). [Read more…] about Ninth Circuit Finds No Standing for FCRA Claim Despite Reduced Credit Scores
Wells Fargo on the Hook for Misreporting Delinquency
Finding genuine issues of material fact, the district court denied Wells Fargo’s motion for summary judgment on most of the Chapter 13 debtors’ federal and state claims based on Wells Fargo’s misapplication and misreporting of mortgage payments while the debtors were in bankruptcy. Anderson v. Wells Fargo Bank, No. 16-2514, 2018 WL 3426269 (N.D. Tex. July 13, 2018).
Tony and Hanna Anderson were current on their mortgage when they filed their Chapter 13 petition. Their confirmed plan provided for continued payment on the mortgage outside the plan. Though the Andersons made all mortgage payments promptly, the mortgage servicer, Wells Fargo, misapplied the payments and reported the debt as delinquent. The Andersons sent Wells Fargo five qualified written requests for information under RESPA and filed a request for investigation under the FCRA. Wells Fargo admitted its error and sent the corrected information to credit reporting agencies approximately two months later. [Read more…] about Wells Fargo on the Hook for Misreporting Delinquency
NACBA and NCLC Enter Fair Credit Reporting Arena
On September 2, 2016, NACBA and the NCLC joined forces to file an amicus brief in a case addressing credit reporting standards under the FCRA. Abeyta v. Bank of America, No. 16-15707 (9th Cir.).
Ginny Abeyta filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in June 2010 and completed her plan in April 2014. In October 2014, she requested her credit report and found that Bank of America had reported her debt as “past due” as of July 2010, and in “major delinquency” as of August 2010. There was no mention of her successful Chapter 13 bankruptcy. She requested a reinvestigation of the debt, and the new credit report contained the same inaccuracies. [Read more…] about NACBA and NCLC Enter Fair Credit Reporting Arena