Blanch v. Trans Union, LLC, NO. 3:17-cv-01494

• Court: United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Court of Middle District of Tennessee
• Writing for the Court: WAVERLY D. CRENSHAW, JR., CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
• Citation: 333 F.Supp.3d 789
• Parties: April BLANCH, Plaintiffs, v. TRANS UNION, LLC, et al., Defendants.
• Decision Date: 24 September 2018
• Docket Number: NO. 3:17-cv-01494

333 F.Supp.3d 789

April BLANCH, Plaintiffs,
v.
TRANS UNION, LLC, et al., Defendants.

NO. 3:17-cv-01494

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville Division.

Filed September 24, 2018

333 F.Supp.3d 790

Susannah E. Rourk, Rourk Attorney at Law, Clarksville, TN, for Plaintiffs.

Shaun K. Ramey, McGlinchey Stafford, Nashville, TN, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WAVERLY D. CRENSHAW, JR., CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

April Blanch brought suit against numerous defendants, under the Fair Credit

333 F.Supp.3d 791

Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., related to alleged errors in her credit reports. All defendants have been dismissed except Macy's Retail Holdings, Inc. ("Macy's") and Citibank, N.A. ("Citibank"). These two defendants filed a joint Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 38), to which Blanch has responded in opposition (Doc. No. 40) and the defendants have replied (Doc. No. 43). The motion will be granted.

I. Background ¹

On October 17, 2012, Blanch filed Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and her Chapter 13 plan was confirmed the same day. (Doc. No. 1 at ¶ 8.) On June 7, 2017, Blanch's bankruptcy was discharged. (Id. at ¶ 9.) Blanch alleges that the following trade lines are "incorrectly reporting with a status of account included in bankruptcy": (1) DSNB/Macy's with account number: 41818278**** (Macy's), and (2) Goodyear/Cbna with account number: 603551012480**** (Citibank). (Id. at ¶ 7.) On September 1, 2016, Blanch obtained her credit files and noticed these trade lines. (Id. at ¶ 10.) On October 25, 2017, Blanch submitted a letter to the credit reporting agencies Trans Union and Equifax disputing the trade lines. (Id. at ¶ 11.) In these dispute letters, Blanch explained that the subject accounts were discharged in her bankruptcy, attached a copy of the Order of Discharge, and asked the credit bureaus to report the correct status. (Id.)

Blanch alleges that Trans Union and Equifax forwarded her dispute to Macy's and Citibank. (Id. at ¶ 12.) On November 1, 2017, Blanch received Trans Union's investigation results. (Id. at ¶ 13.) These results showed that the trade lines continued to report with what Blanch believed to be "an incorrect status of account included in bankruptcy instead of reporting as discharged in bankruptcy."² (Id.) Blanch alleges that she has suffered credit and emotional damages due to the defendants' negligent and/or willful failures to correct the errors in her trade lines. (Id. at ¶ 15, p. 7-11.)

II. Legal Standard

To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, " ‘a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ " Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). "If the plaintiffs do not nudge their claims across the line from conceivable to plausible, their complaint must be dismissed." Lutz v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., 717 F.3d 459, 464 (6th Cir. 2013) (citation and brackets omitted). Dismissal is likewise appropriate where the complaint, however factually detailed, fails to state a claim as a matter of law. Mitchell v. McNeil, 487 F.3d 374, 379 (6th Cir. 2007).

As a general rule, matters outside the pleadings may not be considered in ruling on a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss unless the motion is converted to one for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. See Weiner v. Klais & Co., 108 F.3d 86, 88 (6th Cir. 1997). There are, however, exceptions to this general rule. Documents attached to the motion to

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dismiss briefing may be considered part of the pleadings if they were incorporated into the complaint by reference and are central to the plaintiff's claim. Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007) ; Jackson v. City of Columbus, 194 F.3d 737, 745 (6th Cir. 1999) ; Snodgrass-King Pediatric Dental Assocs., P.C. v. DentaQuest USA Ins. Co., Inc., 79 F.Supp.3d 753, 761 (M.D. Tenn. 2015). In this case, the Complaint directly incorporates Trans Union's November 1, 2017 investigation results. Plaintiff did not attach this document to the Complaint, but she appended it to her response to the Motion to Dismiss. (Doc. No. 40-1.) Because the investigation results were incorporated into the Complaint by reference and are central to Blanch's claim, the Court will consider them without converting the motion to one for summary judgment.³

III. Discussion

The FCRA "exists ‘to ensure fair and accurate credit reporting, promote efficiency in the banking system, and protect consumer privacy.’ " Boggio...