Long v. Se. Pa. Transp. Auth.
Opinion
This case raises again the frequently-litigated question of whether violation of a statute-here, the Fair Credit Reporting Act-is an injury in fact that satisfies the Constitution's "case or controversy" requirement. The District Court concluded that the plaintiffs did not allege a concrete injury in fact and therefore dismissed their complaint for lack of jurisdiction. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
I. Background
The complaint alleges the following facts. The three named plaintiffs were convicted of drug offenses in the relatively distant past: Michael White in 2006 and 2007, Joseph Shipley in 2001, and Frank Long in 1997. More recently, Plaintiffs applied to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) for jobs that involved operating vehicles. Each Plaintiff filled out a form disclosing his criminal history and authorizing SEPTA to obtain a background check. Initially, Plaintiffs' job applications seemed to meet with success: each received an offer or was given information about when to start training.
Ultimately, though, SEPTA denied employment to Plaintiffs. SEPTA told Long he was not hired because of "the information SEPTA had received from [the] background check." App. 28 (Complaint ¶ 47). SEPTA told White and Shipley they were not hired because of their "criminal history." App. 29, 31 (Complaint ¶¶ 57, 69). When Shipley requested more information, SEPTA sent a letter saying that for positions that "require the operation of ... vehicles," SEPTA has a "categorical lifetime ban" on hiring anyone convicted of a crime "involving the possession, sale, distribution, manufacture and use of controlled substances." App. 29-30 (Complaint ¶ 58).
SEPTA did not send Plaintiffs copies of their background checks before it decided not to hire them. Nor did it send them notices of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA, however, required SEPTA to send both before it denied them employment. 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3). Plaintiffs filed a putative class action complaint based on these two FCRA violations, as well as other claims not at issue here.
SEPTA moved to dismiss the complaint. The District Court granted the motion and dismissed for lack of standing. It concluded there was only a "bare procedural violation," not a concrete injury in fact, because Plaintiffs alleged that SEPTA denied them jobs "based on their criminal history, which Plaintiffs disclosed prior to SEPTA procuring their background checks."
Long v. Se. Pa. Transp. Auth.
, No. CV 16-1991,
II. Jurisdiction and Standard of Review
The District Court had jurisdiction under
III. Analysis
Plaintiffs allege that SEPTA violated the FCRA by taking adverse employment action without providing copies of their background checks or notices of their rights under the FCRA. SEPTA argues that Plaintiffs lack standing because they were not harmed by what the District Court ruled were "bare procedural violations" of the statute. To determine whether the violations were "bare" and "procedural," or whether they were concrete injuries in fact, we will first examine the statute to ascertain what rights it confers. Next, we will examine the factual allegations in the complaint. Finally, with the FCRA and the facts in hand, we will analyze whether Plaintiffs have standing.
A. The Statute
The FCRA provides that "before" a potential employer, like SEPTA, takes "any adverse action based in whole or in part" on a consumer report, it "shall provide"
the person who is the subject of the report with "(i) a copy of the report; and (ii) a description in writing of the rights of the consumer under [the FCRA]." 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3)(A). An adverse action includes "a denial of employment."
Plaintiffs argue that the statute prohibits adverse employment actions based on consumer reports that an individual has not had the opportunity to review or discuss with the potential employer. SEPTA, on the other hand, argues that the statute protects only against adverse employment action that is based on inaccurate or misleading information. SEPTA's position is that Plaintiffs' consumer reports were accurate and therefore they suffered no injury in fact. SEPTA is incorrect, however. As we now explain, the statute confers a broader right than simply to be free from adverse action based on inaccurate information.
Following the Supreme Court's directives, we "look to the text of the statute, rather than the legislative history, to interpret a statute or determine legislative intent as an aid to interpretation."
Thorpe v. Borough of Thorpe
,
Congress found that "[c]onsumer reporting agencies have assumed a vital role in assembling and evaluating ... information on consumers."
Id.
§ 1681(a)(3). Therefore, "[t]here is a need to ensure that [they] exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumer's right to privacy."
The required pre-adverse-action copy of an individual's consumer report allows him to ensure that the report is true, and may also enable him to advocate for it to be used fairly-such as by explaining why true but negative information is irrelevant to his fitness for the job. The required pre-adverse-action notice of FCRA rights provides the individual with information about what the law requires with regard to consumer reports. The advance notice requirement, then, supports both accuracy and fairness. It helps ensure that reports are properly used and relevant for the purposes for which they are used.
SEPTA argues that § 1681b(b)(3) protects only against adverse action based on inaccurate information, but the subsection is not so narrow. See 15 U.S.C. § 1681b. The right to pre-adverse-action disclosures serves all of the purposes discussed above: accuracy, relevancy, proper utilization, and fairness. The individual's right to dispute and correct consumer reports is provided elsewhere, see 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, so according to the statute's structure, § 1681b is not limited to situations where the report is inaccurate. In addition, it would not make sense for § 1681b(b)(3) to apply only to inaccurate information, because the consumer cannot know whether his report is accurate unless it is disclosed to him. Finally, if Congress meant to provide protections only against the use of inaccurate consumer reports, it could have written the statute to say so. The meaning of § 1681b(b)(3) is plain: before an employer takes adverse action based in any part on a consumer report, the consumer has a right to receive a description of his rights under the FCRA, as well as a copy of his report, regardless of its accuracy. 3
SEPTA also argues that Congress did not intend § 1681b(b)(3) to protect against non-disclosure where the adverse action would have been taken regardless of any opportunity to comment. SEPTA asserts that Plaintiffs' criminal histories categorically disqualified them for the driver positions they sought, so the opportunity to respond would have made no difference. However, the FCRA does not condition the right to receive a consumer report on whether having the report would allow an individual to stave off an adverse employment action. Rather, the statute applies to all consumers. 4
In sum, § 1681b(b)(3) confers on the individual a right to receive, before adverse action is taken, a copy of his or her consumer report (regardless of its accuracy) and a notice of his or her rights. This right permits individuals to know beforehand when their consumer reports might be used against them, and creates the possibility for the consumer to respond to inaccurate or negative information-either in the current job application process, or going forward in other job applications.
B. The Complaint
A district court entertaining a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss for lack of standing must first ascertain whether it "presents a 'facial' attack or a 'factual' attack on the claim at issue, because that distinction determines how the pleading must be reviewed."
Constitution Party of Pa. v. Aichele
,
In passing, SEPTA invokes the standard for a factual attack, declaring without elaboration that Plaintiffs' allegations are not entitled to the usual presumption of truth. Appellee's Br. 9. However, SEPTA never made a factual attack. It "filed the attack before it filed any answer to the Complaint or otherwise presented competing facts," so its motion is, "by definition, a facial attack."
Constitution Party
,
Although the District Court articulated the correct standard, it did not actually "accept as true all of [Plaintiffs'] plausible allegations, and draw all reasonable inferences in [their] favor."
The District Court also failed to construe Plaintiffs' allegations in the light most favorable to them. It adopted the view (espoused by SEPTA) that their drug convictions categorically barred them from the jobs for which they applied. Plaintiffs allege, however, that SEPTA might have changed its decision if they had the chance to respond to their background checks. The District Court was required to assume the truth of this allegation.
C. Standing
The law on standing is well developed, and several recent cases analyze standing in the context of alleged violations of federal privacy statutes. We begin by surveying Supreme Court and Third Circuit precedent to establish the relevant standing principles. We then apply the law to the facts of this case and conclude that the District Court erred, in part, in dismissing the complaint for lack of standing.
1. Spokeo
Under Article III of the United States Constitution, the power of the judiciary "extends only to 'Cases' and 'Controversies.' "
Spokeo
,
In
Spokeo
, the plaintiff alleged violations of the FCRA provision that requires consumer reporting agencies to "follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy."
A concrete injury is " de facto ;" it "actually exist[s]," though it need not be "tangible." Id. at 1548-49. "In determining whether an intangible harm constitutes injury in fact, both history and the judgment of Congress play important roles." Id. at 1549. The historical inquiry asks whether an intangible harm "has a close relationship" to one that historically has provided a basis for a lawsuit, and the congressional inquiry acknowledges that Congress's judgment is "instructive and important" because that body "is well positioned to identify intangible harms that meet minimum Article III requirements." Id.
While Congress "may 'elevat[e] to the status of legally cognizable injuries concrete,
de facto
injuries that were previously inadequate in law,' "
id.
(quoting
Lujan
,
Having laid out principles of concreteness, the Court remanded to the Ninth Circuit for it to consider whether the plaintiff's particularized injury was also concrete, as required for standing.
2. Third Circuit Precedent
When discussing standing, we have noted that "the injury-in-fact element is not Mount Everest. The contours of the ... requirement, while not precisely defined, are very generous, requiring only that claimant allege some specific, identifiable trifle of injury.' "
In re Horizon Healthcare Servs. Inc. Data Breach Litig.
,
In the first case, which preceded
Spokeo
, the plaintiffs sued under the Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, alleging that Google put cookies on their web browsers despite its statements to the contrary.
In re Google Inc. Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litig.
,
In the second case, which post-dated
Spokeo
, the plaintiffs sued under the Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act, and the Video Privacy Protection Act, alleging that the defendants unlawfully used cookies to track children's internet history.
In re Nickelodeon Consumer Privacy Litig.
,
The third appeal involved the theft of a computer containing the plaintiffs' personal health information.
Horizon
,
We applied
Spokeo
's "two tests for whether an intangible injury can ... be 'concrete.' "
In our fourth and final case, the plaintiff sued under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) after receiving a single unsolicited call on her cell phone.
Susinno v. Work Out World Inc.
,
3. Application
A plaintiff must "demonstrate standing for each claim he seeks to press."
Neale v. Volvo Cars of N. Am., LLC
,
Plaintiffs have standing to assert their first claim-that SEPTA failed to provide copies of their consumer reports. Under
Spokeo
's congressional test, the FCRA clearly expresses Congress's "intent to make [the] injury redressable."
Horizon
,
Horizon
,
Sp
okeo
's second test, the historical test, assesses whether the injury in question has a close relationship to a harm traditionally recognized under common law.
Horizon
,
Common-law privacy rights were historically understood as being invaded by "(a) unreasonable intrusion upon the seclusion of another, ... (b) appropriation of the other's name or likeness, ... (c) unreasonable publicity given to the other's private life, ... or (d) publicity that unreasonably places the other in a false light before the public ...." Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652A(2)(a)-(d) (1977). These latter three types of privacy torts represent interference with an individual's ability to control his personal information. That is analogous to the injury here, which is the use of Plaintiffs' personal information-their consumer reports-without Plaintiffs being able to see or respond to it. Therefore, the second Spokeo test, the historical test, is also met. Because the statute meets both tests, and because Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient concrete harm, they have standing to bring their claim that SEPTA did not provide them with the required copies of their consumer reports. 8
SEPTA points to hypotheticals in Spokeo to argue that Plaintiffs' injury is bare and procedural, and thus not a concrete injury-in-fact. In Spokeo , the Court said that certain FCRA violations would "result in no harm," such as where a consumer report contains an immaterial inaccuracy like an incorrect zip code, or where the report is "entirely accurate" but its use is not disclosed. Id. at 1550. SEPTA contends that-as in the second hypo-Plaintiffs' consumer reports were accurate, even if they did not receive the required notice. SEPTA's argument, however, depends on its view that the sole purpose of the § 1681b(b)(3) disclosures is to allow the correction of inaccuracies. As we have explained, supra Part III.A, the right to the disclosures is the same whether the report is accurate or not. Spokeo naturally focused on accuracy; the plaintiff there had alleged that his consumer report was inaccurate and therefore violated a different provision of the FCRA, § 1681e(b). Spokeo 's focus on accuracy in connection with an alleged § 1681e(b) violation does not negate the language and purpose of § 1681b(b)(3), which is at issue here.
We turn next to SEPTA's alleged failure to notify Plaintiffs of their FCRA rights. Plaintiffs argue that this was a concrete harm because it "increased the risk that ... individuals would not know of their FCRA rights and have their claims lapse before they could bring suit." Appellants' Br. 29. Under the principles outlined above, this is a "bare procedural violation, divorced from any concrete harm," that cannot "satisfy the injury-in-fact requirement of Article III."
Spokeo
,
Other federal appeals courts have deployed reasoning similar to ours, and have arrived at results consistent with this one-albeit in decisions regarding a different FCRA requirement.
See
Groshek v. Time Warner Cable, Inc.
,
Plaintiffs also argue that the lack of an FCRA notice "increased the risk of harm to ... the putative class." Appellants' Br. 29 (internal quotation marks omitted). Plaintiffs thus imply that unnamed class members remained unaware of their FCRA rights. However, "[n]amed plaintiffs who represent a class must allege ... that they personally have been injured, not that injury has been suffered by other, unidentified members of the class ...."
Horizon
,
IV. Conclusion
For these reasons, we affirm the dismissal of Plaintiffs' claim based on SEPTA's failure to provide them with notice of their FCRA rights as required by 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3)(A)(ii). We reverse the dismissal of Plaintiffs' claim based on SEPTA's failure to provide them with copies of their consumer reports as required by 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3)(A)(i), and we remand for further proceedings.
SEPTA has not disputed that the background checks at issue here are consumer reports.
Given our focus on the statutory text, we do not find persuasive Plaintiffs' citation of
Thomas v. FTS USA, LLC
,
The Seventh Circuit very recently considered this question and arrived at the same conclusion.
Robertson v. Allied Solutions, LLC
,
See
Robertson
, at 697-98,
On remand, the Ninth Circuit had "little difficulty" concluding that the plaintiff's injury was concrete.
Robins v. Spokeo, Inc.
,
SEPTA also argues, as an alternative ground for affirmance, that Plaintiffs failed to allege the other two standing requirements: "a sufficient causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of" and "a likelihood that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision."
Finkelman
,
We caution that Congress cannot elevate any insubstantial injury into a concrete injury merely by the legislative act of providing a remedy.
See
Meyers v. Nicolet Rest. of De Pere, LLC
,
The Seventh Circuit concluded, as do we, that a plaintiff has standing to sue based on allegations that she did not receive the pre-adverse action notice required by § 1681b(b)(3).
Robertson
, at 697-98,
A consumer may bring an action under the FCRA "not later than the earlier of-(1) 2 years after the date of discovery by the plaintiff of the violation that is the basis for such liability; or (2) 5 years after the date on which the violation that is the basis for such liability occurs." 15 U.S.C. § 1681p.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Frank LONG; Joseph Shipley; Michael White, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Appellants v. SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
- Cited By
- 113 cases
- Status
- Published