Experian wins summary judgment, court finds plaintiff's FCRA claims time-barred

Client(s) Experian Information Solutions, Inc.

Jones Day client Experian Information Solutions, Inc. secured a summary judgment victory in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania as the court dismissed all of plaintiff's Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), 15 U.S.C § 1681, et seq., claims as time-barred. In doing so, the court rejected a line of cases holding that subsequent disputes restart the FCRA's two-year statute of limitations, 15 U.S.C § 1681p, even if predicated on the same allegedly erroneous credit information. Instead, the court found the reasoning of Bittick v. Experian Info. Sols., Inc., 419 F. Supp.2d 917 (N.D. Tex. 2006) and its progeny, which states that plaintiffs cannot renew the FCRA's statute of limitations by merely submitting repeat disputes, more persuasive. The court held that because plaintiff's complaint was filed more than two years after her original dispute and all of her subsequent disputes were based on the same allegedly inaccurate information, her claims were time-barred. The court opined that to hold otherwise would render the FCRA's statute of limitations a nullity.

Lavender v. Experian Info. Sols., Inc., 21-cv-4739 (E.D. Pa.)