EXPERIAN SUMMARY JUDGMENT DENIED – JUDGE SAYS CREDIT IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE MODERN AMERICAN ECONOMY – EXPERIAN’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT DENIED

In Burke v. Experian, Judge Anthony J. Trenga opined, “Credit is the lifeblood of the modern American economy and for the American consumer access to credit has become inextricably tied to consumer credit scores as reported by credit reporting agencies.”

In his opinion, Judge Trenga denied Experian’s (a nationwide consumer reporting agency) Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.  The plaintiff, Bruce Burke, filed suit against Experian under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  Mr. Burke claimed Experian failed to use reasonable procedures to assure the maximum accuracy of the information contained in his credit report.  Mr. Burke also claimed Experian failed to perform a reasonable reinvestigation after he made a dispute to Experian about inaccurate information in his credit report.

Mr. Burke disputed information in his Experian credit report about an account that was settled in another lawsuit.  When Mr. Burke settled with the other party, the settlement agreement required the lender to notify the nationwide consumer reporting agencies, including Experian, that the account should no longer be reported as derogatory.

Mr. Burke later reviewed his credit reports and discovered Experian was still reporting the derogatory account, despite the settlement agreement with the creditor.  Mr. Burke mailed Experian a dispute letter regarding the derogatory information and asked Experian to remove the inaccurate information.

Experian sent the creditor (or furnisher) an Automated Customer Dispute Verification (“ACDV”) form after receiving Mr. Burke’s dispute letter.  The furnisher of the derogatory information communicated to Experian that the adverse information should remain in Mr. Burke’s file. Experian did not delete the derogatory information from Mr. Burke’s file.

Mr. Burke disputed the account a second time to Experian by mail.  In accordance with its policies and procedures, Experian viewed Mr. Burke’s dispute as duplicative (i.e., frivolous) and did not perform any further reinvestigation.

Experian moved for summary judgment as to Mr. Burke’s Fair Credit Reporting Act Claims.  Experian argued its response to Mr. Burke’s disputes was reasonable and there was no issue of material fact as to Mr. Burke’s damages.  The court disagreed and denied Experian’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

READ THE OPINION

HAVE YOU REQUESTED YOUR FREE CREDIT REPORT AND DISCOVERED INACCURATE INFORMATION ON YOUR EQUIFAX, EXPERIAN OR TRANS UNION CREDIT REPORT? HAVE YOU DISPUTED THE INACCURATE INFORMATION TO THE CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES? CONTACT CREDIT REPORT ATTORNEY MICAH ADKINS FOR A FREE CREDIT REPORT REVIEW.

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