Edeh v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC

• Decision Date: 23 January 2013
• Docket Number: Civil No. 12–1301 (JNE/FLN).
• Citation: 919 F.Supp.2d 1006
• Parties: Samuel N. EDEH, Plaintiff, v. EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, LLC, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

919 F.Supp.2d 1006

Samuel N. EDEH, Plaintiff,

v.EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, LLC, Defendant.

Civil No. 12–1301 (JNE/FLN).

United States District Court,

D. Minnesota.

Jan. 23, 2013.

Samuel N. Edeh, Rochester, MN, pro se.

Andrew T. Shern, Christopher G. Angell, Murnane Brandt, PA, St. Paul, MN, Brian J. Olson, J. Anthony Love, Atlanta, GA, for Defendant.

ORDER

JOAN N. ERICKSEN, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on a Report and Recommendation and an Order issued by the Honorable Franklin L. Noel, United States Magistrate Judge, on October 11, 2012, 2012 WL 6923800. In the Report and Recommendation, the magistrate judge recommended that Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment and for permanent or temporary injunction injunction [Docket No. 5] be granted in part and denied in part, that Defendant's motion to strike Plaintiff's motion for a permanent or temporary injunction [Docket No. 19] be denied as moot, and that Defendant's motion for summary judgment [Docket No. 26] be granted in part and denied in part. In the Order, the magistrate judge denied Equifax's motion for reimbursement of costs and fees incurred due to Plaintiff's failure to attend the September 14, 2012 motions hearing [Docket No. 64]. Both parties filed objections and responses to the Report and Recommendation; Equifax also objected to the Order. With respect to the Report and Recommendation, the Court has conducted a de novo review of the record. SeeD. Minn. LR 72.2(b). Based on that review, the Court adopts the recommendations that Counts VI, VII, and VIII of the Complaint be dismissed, that Plaintiff's motion for injunctive relief be denied, and that Defendant's motion to strike Plaintiff's motion for a permanent or temporary injunction be denied. The Court declines to adopt the other recommendations, as explained in more detail below.

I. BACKGROUND¹

Defendant Equifax Information Services, LLC (“Equifax”) is a consumer reporting agency (“CRA”) within the meaning of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681–1681x. Equifax maintains credit information on numerous consumers throughout the United States, including Plaintiff Samuel Edeh (“Edeh”). In May 2011, Edeh requested that a “credit freeze” (or “security freeze”) be placed on his Equifax consumer credit file, which prevented creditors and other third parties from obtaining Edeh's credit report from Equifax. On September 15, 2011, Edeh filed his first lawsuit against Equifax ( Edeh I ), alleging various violations of the FCRA, including allegations that the Defendant reported inaccurate information related to one of Edeh's credit card accounts. See Edeh v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, et al., Civil No. 11–2671 (SRN/JSM).

When a consumer files a lawsuit against Equifax in which the accuracy of the information contained within the consumer's credit file is disputed, Equifax maintains a policy of taking that consumer's credit file “offline” until the dispute is resolved. This is referred to as Equifax's “offline policy.” When a consumer's credit file is offline, it continues to exist within Equifax's consumer database, but it is unavailable to creditors and other third parties. It does not become available to such third parties until Equifax places the file back “online,” regardless of whether or not a credit freeze is in place. While it is offline, the consumer's credit file is also unavailable to Equifax personnel who are responsible for responding to routine customer requests for credit file disclosures. During the time a consumer's credit file is offline, if that consumer requests a copy of his credit file, it is Equifax's procedure to route the request to its internal consumer department. Members of that department are supposed to coordinate with outside counsel to arrange for delivery of the credit file to the consumer.

Pursuant to its offline policy, Equifax took Edeh's file offline when Edeh filed Edeh I, a case in which he disputed the accuracy of information contained within his credit file. After litigation commenced, and during the time Edeh's file was offline, Edeh contacted Equifax on numerous occasions to request a copy of his credit file and credit score. He also made several requests to remove the credit freeze. Equifax, however, did not send Edeh a copy of his credit file and credit score, nor did it remove the credit freeze.²

On January 13, 2012, Edeh applied for a loan with Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union (MEFCU). On February 13, 2012, MEFCU notified Edeh that it was unable to extend credit to him because it was “unable to obtain credit report” from Equifax. In March 2012, MEFCU again attempted to obtain Edeh's credit file from Equifax, but received the following message: “Consumer requested security freeze on his/her file—report unavailable.” A MEFCU loan officer notified Edeh that he was “unable to obtain the needed information” from Edeh's credit file, and so he could not process Edeh's loan application. On March 30, 2012, Think Mutual Bank attempted to obtain a copy of Edeh's Equifax credit file in order to complete a credit application, but was unable to do so. Without the credit report, Think Mutual Bank could not complete the application. In April 2012, Edeh applied for a Discover credit card, but because Discover was unable to access Edeh's credit report, it was unable to process his application.

II. DISCUSSION

Summary judgment is proper “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). To support an assertion that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed, a party must cite “to particular parts of materials in the record,” show “that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute,” or show “that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(A)-(B). “The court need consider only the cited materials, but it may consider other materials in the record.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(3). In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, a court must look at the record and any inferences to be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The nonmoving party must substantiate his allegations by “sufficient probative evidence [that] would permit a finding in [his] favor on more than mere speculation, conjecture, or fantasy.” Mann v. Yarnell, 497 F.3d 822, 825 (8th Cir.2007) (internal quotation marks omitted).

A. Plaintiff's Motion for Injunctive Relief

The Court adopts the magistrate judge's recommendation that Plaintiff's motion for injunctive relief be denied. As stated in the Report and Recommendation, the FCRA does not allow consumers to seek injunctive relief. See Washington v. CSC Credit Servs. Inc., 199 F.3d 263, 268 (5th Cir.2000). Moreover, as explained below, Edeh has not established the requisite public benefit to seek injunctive relief under Minnesota's private attorney general statute. See Ly v. Nystrom, 615 N.W.2d 302, 314 (Minn.2000).

B. Plaintiff's Claim Under Minnesota Statutes § 13C.016 (Count I)

Under Minnesota law, a person may elect to place a security freeze on his consumer report,³ which prevents CRA's from releasing any information contained within the consumer report to a third party “in connection with the extension of credit or the opening of an account, without prior express authorization from the consumer.” Minn. Stat. § 13C.016, subdivs. 1–2. The consumer may also request that the security freeze be temporarily lifted or permanently removed, by providing certain information to the CRA. Id., subdiv. 4. A CRA must comply with the request to lift or remove the freeze within three business days. Id. Edeh alleges that Equifax violated this statute by failing to remove the credit freeze from his consumer file after repeated requests to do so.

A private individual injured by a violation of Minnesota Statutes § 13C.016, subdiv. 4(e) may bring a civil action under Minnesota's private attorney general statute, Minn. Stat. § 8.31, subdiv. 3a. SeeMinn. Stat. § 13C.04. “[T]he Private AG Statute applies only to those claimants who demonstrate that their cause of action benefits the public.” Ly, 615 N.W.2d at 314;see also Curtis v. Altria Grp., Inc., 813 N.W.2d 891, 899 (Minn.2012) (stating that “private litigants must establish ‘that their cause of action benefits the public’ in order to proceed with a claim under section 8.31, subdivision 3a” (citation omitted)). An alleged violation affecting only one person “does not advance state interests and enforcement has no public benefit.” Ly, 615 N.W.2d at 314;see also Davis v. U.S. Bancorp, 383 F.3d 761, 768 (8th Cir.2004) (reasoning that “[t]he class of plaintiffs under the private attorney general statute would be limitless if we assumed that one individual's negative experience with a company was necessarily duplicated for every other individual,” and holding that where the plaintiff “had a private transaction with [the defendant]” involving “poor communication and confusion on both sides,” there was no evidence of a public benefit). Edeh has presented evidence of only his personal transaction with Equifax, but there is no evidence in the record that this cause of action benefits the public.

Further, the Minnesota attorney general statute only allows a “person injured by a violation” to bring a civil action and recover damages. Minn. Stat. § 8.31, subdiv. 3a. Edeh's alleged injuries—i.e., his inability to get credit—resulted from three creditors being unable to obtain his credit file. It is undisputed that regardless of whether or not there was a credit freeze in place, the creditors would have been unable to obtain Edeh's credit file because of Equifax's offline policy. Thus, there is no evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that Edeh's alleged injuries...