Experian obtains complete dismissal of class action concerning prescreen consumer reports
Client(s) Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
On behalf of Experian Information Solutions, Inc., Jones Day obtained complete dismissal of a putative nationwide class action arising under the Fair Credit Report Act ("FCRA"). The plaintiff alleged that Experian had sent his consumer report to Lend Tech Loans, Inc. for marketing (or "prescreen") purposes, and that Lend Tech in turn sent it to Unified Document Service, LLC, even though these entities allegedly did not have a permissible purpose to obtain the plaintiff's consumer report. Experian filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the plaintiff had failed to state any claim for relief.
The Hon. John F. Walter of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted Experian's motion in its entirety, dismissing all the plaintiff's claims with prejudice. The court explained that the plaintiff had failed to allege facts sufficient to show that Experian knew Lend Tech did not have a permissible purpose to obtain the plaintiff's consumer report, much less that Experian's procedures for onboarding Lend Tech as a client were unreasonable. To the contrary, the plaintiff affirmatively alleged that Lend Tech represented to Experian that it did have a permissible purpose as a mortgage broker. The court also rejected the plaintiff's contention that Experian improperly identified his relationship with a specific creditor by reporting his total federal student loan amount, since the plaintiff failed to allege that Experian had identified the specific servicer of the loans. Furthermore, although the plaintiff claimed that Experian's purported FCRA violations were willful, the court rejected that theory, holding that he had not pleaded any facts concerning Experian's state of mind. While the plaintiff moved for reconsideration of the court's dismissal, the court denied that motion and entered judgment in Experian's favor.
Abbink v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., et al., No. 8-19-cv-01257 (C.D. Cal.)
