Galea v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Galea v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Opinion of the Court
Galea alleges the Consumer Data Industry Association's Metro 2 format "is the credit industry's standardized, objective reporting format used by furnishers to provide information about consumer accounts to consumer reporting agencies." FAC ¶ 52. The Metro 2 format provides guidance on how furnishers of consumer information should report consumer accounts once the consumer has paid out the account through a successfully-discharged bankruptcy. See FAC ¶ 57. For unsecured accounts, the report should list the CII status as "Discharged/Completed through BK Chapter 13." Id. The Current Balance, Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount, and Amount Past Due should all be listed as "Zero" or "$0". Id. For secured accounts, the Metro 2 likewise requires furnishers to update the account's Status, Payment History, Current Balance, Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount, and Amount Past Due. FAC ¶ 58. Yet, following Galea's successful discharge of bankruptcy, Equifax issued a credit report in September 2018 that listed her Scheduled Payment Amount as $410. FAC ¶ 110.
A month later, Plaintiff sent a letter to Equifax, disputing the September 2018 report. FAC ¶¶ 115-16. In December 2018, Equifax provided Galea with the results of its reinvestigation. FAC ¶ 119. It did not, however, change the Scheduled Payment Amount from $410 to $0. FAC ¶ 120.
II. OPINION
A. Fair Credit Reporting Act Claims
1. 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681e(b) and 1681i(a)
The FCRA "creates a private right of action for willful or negligent noncompliance *1215with its requirements." Gorman v. Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP,
The FCRA imposes distinct requirements upon consumer reporting agencies ("CRA's") and those who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies ("furnishers"). Reply at 1-2, ECF No. 33. Even so, courts rely on the same standard for determining whether a credit report included "inaccurate" information regardless of which entity a plaintiff sues. See, e.g., Shaw,
Equifax argues that listing the Scheduled Payment Amount as $410 is neither patently incorrect nor materially misleading. Mot. at 4-5. The Equifax consumer report lists Galea's Travis Credit Union Account as "Paid and Closed," "Closed or Paid Account/Zero Balance." Exh. 3, ECF No. 20-4. The "Date of Last Activity" and "Date Closed" are both listed as "04/2012."
Neither the Ninth Circuit nor this Court have ruled on the question of whether it is inaccurate to include a "scheduled monthly payment amount" on an account that is otherwise paid off and closed. Defendants argue other courts have "readily and consistently" found consumer reporting agencies may include accurate, historical information on consumer reports-even if that information is derogatory. Reply at 3; see also Mot. at 6-9 (citing Cahlin v. General Motors Acceptance Corp.,
*1216Harris v. Nissan-Infiniti LT, No. 2:17-cv-00191-JCM-VCF,
For example, in Cahlin,
Cahlin, however, is not persuasive authority for this case. Unlike the plaintiff in Cahlin, Galea does not contend her credit report should be without any derogatory references that may accurately reflect her credit history. Indeed, Galea's challenge is not with the inclusion of historical information, but rather, the absence of any clear indication that her "scheduled monthly payment amount" is, in fact, historical. See Opp'n at 6-7. Furthermore, the plaintiff in Cahlin,
Meeks,
But Galea cites an equally comparable case arising out of the Northern District of Illinois. Opp'n at 7 (citing Freedom v. Citifinancial, LLC, No. 15-cv-10135,
The Court is not bound by any of these cases cited in Equifax's motion. Nor is it persuaded that those cases require this Court to dismiss Galea's Section 1681e(b) and Section 1681i(a) claims. Rather, the inconsistency among district courts on this issue-and the narrow grounds upon which they attempt to distinguish themselves-reaffirms the notion that determining whether credit information is misleading is often a task better suited for a jury. See, e.g., Drew v. Equifax Information Services, LLC,
Furthermore, the Court rejects Equifax's argument that Galea's Section 1681e(b) and Section 1681i(a) claims rest on nothing more than her subjective belief of what is misleading. Independent of whether a jury would find the report misleading, Galea's complaint plainly sets out an objective basis for her claim. Galea alleges that, under the Metro 2 format, "[o]nce the [bankruptcy] Plan is successfully completed, furnishers for unsecured accounts are instructed to report the ... Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount ... as Zero." FAC ¶ 57 (internal quotations omitted). Secured accounts should, likewise, be updated. FAC ¶ 58. Galea's credit report did not list her Scheduled Payment Amount as zero following the successful completion of her bankruptcy plan. FAC ¶¶ 50, 110. Assuming the truth of Galea's allegations (as this Court must for purposes of this Motion), the Metro 2 provides an objective basis for her claim that the Equifax report was incorrect or misleading. See FAC ¶¶ 34-36.
Equifax failed to show, as a matter of law, that Galea did not allege inaccuracies in her September 2018 credit report. The Court denies Equifax's motion to dismiss Galea's Section 1681e(b) and 1681i(a) claims on this ground.
2. 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(b)
Under Section 1681i(b), a consumer may file a brief statement of dispute if the reinvestigation requested under Section 1681i(a) did not resolve the issue. As Equifax argues, Galea does not allege Equifax prevented her from filing a statement of dispute following its reinvestigation. Mot. at 11. Indeed, Equifax's results letter expressly invited Galea to "add a statement of up to 100 words" to her credit file.
B. California Consumer Reporting Agencies Act Claims
Both parties concede Sections 1785.16 and 1785.14 under the CCRAA are substantially identical to Sections 1681i and 1681e under the FCRA. Mot. at 3-4; Opp'n at 4. A plaintiff must show information in her credit report is inaccurate to state a claim under Section 1785.16 or Section 1785.14. Carvalho v. Equifax Information Services, LLC,
C. Willfulness Claims
Finally, Equifax argues Galea failed to allege that any of the alleged violations of the FCRA and CCRAA were willful. Mot. at 12-13. The Court agrees. The "willfulness" requirement under the FCRA covers both known and reckless violations, Robbins v. CitiMortgage, Inc., No.
D. Sanctions
The Court issued its Order re Filing Requirements ("Order") on March 5, 2019. ECF No. 3-2. The Order limits memoranda in support of and in opposition to motions to dismiss to fifteen pages and reply memoranda in support of motions to dismiss to five pages. Id. at 1. The Order also states that an attorney who exceeds the page limits must pay monetary sanctions of $50.00 per page and that the Court will not consider any arguments made past the page limit. Equifax's reply memorandum exceeds the page limit by five pages. The Court has not considered any arguments made after page five of the reply brief.
III. ORDER
For the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Equifax's motion to dismiss. Galea's Section 1681i(b) claim and willfulness claim are dismissed WITHOUT PREJUDICE. If Galea elects to amend her complaint with respect to either of these claims, she shall file a Second Amended Complaint within twenty days of this Order. Defendants' responsive pleading is due twenty days thereafter.
Additionally, the Court ORDERS Equifax's counsel to pay $250.00 in sanctions. Sanctions shall be paid to the Clerk of the Court within five (5) days of the date of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Sally GALEA v. WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., Equifax Information Services LLC, and Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published