Saenz v. Trans Union, LLC, CV 05-1206-PK.
| Decision Date | 15 August 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. CV 05-1206-PK.,CV 05-1206-PK. |
| Citation | 621 F.Supp.2d 1074 |
| Parties | George H. SAENZ, Plaintiff, v. TRANS UNION, LLC, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Oregon |
Michael C. Baxter, Justin M. Baxter, Baxter & Baxter, LLP, Portland, OR, for Plaintiff.
Donald E. Bradley, Sean A. Kading, Musick Peeler & Garrett, LLP, Costa Mesa, CA, Jennifer Lyn Bouman, Bullard Smith Jernstedt Wilson, Portland, OR, for Defendant.
On June 4, 2007, Magistrate Judge Papak issued his Findings and Recommendation (doc. 74) in the above-captioned case, recommending defendant's motion for summary judgment (doc. 43) be denied. Magistrate Judge Papak also recommended defendant's alternative motion for partial summary judgment be granted as to each of plaintiffs claims alleging defendant's violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b), but denied in all other respects.
The matter is now before me pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Rule 72(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The magistrate judge only makes recommendations to the district court, and any party may file written objections to those recommendations. When a party timely objects to any portion of the magistrate's judge's Findings and Recommendation, the district court must conduct a de novo review of the portions of the Findings and Recommendation to which objections are made. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C); McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Commodore Business Machines, 656 F.2d 1309, 1313 (9th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 920, 102 S.Ct. 1277, 71 L.Ed.2d 461 (1982). The district court is not required to review the factual and legal conclusions of the magistrate judge, to which the parties do not object. Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149, 106 S.Ct. 466, 88 L.Ed.2d 435 (1985); United States v. Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir.2003).
The parties timely filed objections. Upon review of the parties objections, I agree with Magistrate Papak's analysis and recommendation. Thus, I ADOPT Magistrate Judge Papak's Findings and Recommendation as my own opinion.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION
In August 2005, plaintiff George H. Saenz filed this Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") action against defendants Trans Union, LLC ("Trans Union"), Experian Information Solutions, Inc. ("Experian"), Equifax Information Services LLC ("Equifax"), and NCO Financial Systems, Inc. ("NCO"). By stipulation of the parties, Saenz' claims against Equifax, Experian, and NCO have been dismissed with prejudice. Trans Union is therefore the only defendant now remaining in this action.
Saenz raises claims under 15 U.S.C. § 1681o () and under 15 U.S.C. § 1681n (). Each claim is premised on Trans Union's alleged violation of two separate FCRA provisions, namely 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b) () and 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (). Trans Union now seeks summary judgment on both claims. In the alternative, Trans Union requests partial summary judgment as to each of Saenz' claims to the extent premised on negligent and/or willful violation of Section 1681 e(b), as to each of his claims to the extent premised on negligent and/or willful violation of Section 1681i, as to his entitlement to economic and emotional distress damages, and as to his entitlement to punitive damages.
This court has considered Trans Union's motion (#43), the pleadings on file, and oral argument on behalf of both parties. For the reasons set forth below, this court recommends that Trans Union's motion for summary judgment be denied. This court further recommends that Trans Union's alternative motion for partial summary judgment be granted as to each of plaintiff's claims to the extent premised on violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b) only, and in all other respects denied.
In 2001, Saenz incurred a medical bill in the amount of $512.31 that he was unable to pay on a timely basis. The debt went into collection and was sold to former defendant NCO. Later, on August 15, 2003, NCO accepted a compromise payment of $333 in full satisfaction of the outstanding debt.
Also on August 15, 2003, Saenz requested and received a copy of his Trans Union credit report. The report listed the NCO collection as outstanding, with a $512 balance owing. On that same day, Saenz formally disputed the $512 balance with Trans Union, stating only "I have paid this account in full." Trans Union responded by initiating an automated consumer dispute verification ("ACDV") procedure to determine whether NCO's records listed the debt as outstanding. An ACDV is an automated procedure whereby a reporting agency matches its electronic data against electronic data provided by a creditor; if the data match, the information in the credit report is deemed verified. In this case, NCO's automated systems provided electronic data indicating that the $512 collection remained unpaid, and Trans Union concluded that the balance had been correctly reported. On September 12, 2003, Trans Union sent Saenz a copy of its reinvestigation report.
On September 30, 2003, Saenz again disputed the NCO balance, this time providing documentary evidence suggesting that the debt had been paid in full. Specifically, Saenz sent and Trans Union received at least the following documents:
(i) a June 21, 2003, letter from NCO to Saenz offering to accept payment of $333 in settlement of the entire $512 collection balance if such payment were received by NCO not later than August 15, 2003;
(ii) an August 11, 2003, receipt for Saenz' purchase of a money order payable to NCO in the amount of $333; and
(iii) a certified mail receipt indicating that certified mail was sent by Saenz to NCO on August 11, 2003, and received by NCO on August 15, 2003.
It appears from the record that Saenz may inadvertently have omitted to provide, in addition, a copy of the successfully negotiated August 11, 2003, money order.
On October 7, 2003, Trans Union responded to Saenz' second attempt to dispute his credit report by initiating a second ACDV procedure with NCO. Again, the data provided by NCO's automated systems erroneously verified the outstanding collection balance of $512. Trans Union did not provide NCO with copies, summaries, or descriptions of the documents it received from Saenz, nor did it make inquiry of either NCO or Saenz as to the authenticity of the documents or as to NCO's receipt of Saenz' payment. On October 9, 2003, Trans Union sent Saenz a copy of its second reinvestigation report, indicating that the NCO balance was verified.
On July 22, 2004, Saenz again requested a copy of his Trans Union credit report. He received in response a report dated July 28, 2004, on which the $512 balance continued to be reported as an outstanding collection item. The NCO balance was not removed from Saenz' Trans Union credit report until approximately January 2007, after this action was filed.
Summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). Summary judgment is not proper if material factual issues exist for trial. See, e.g., Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Warren v. City of Carlsbad, 58 F.3d 439, 441 (9th Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1171, 116 S.Ct. 1261, 134 L.Ed.2d 209 (1996). In evaluating a motion for summary judgment, the district courts of the United States must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, and may neither make credibility determinations nor perform any weighing of the evidence. See, e.g., Lytle v. Household Mfg., Inc., 494 U.S. 545, 554-55, 110 S.Ct. 1331, 108 L.Ed.2d 504 (1990); Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000).
Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681o(a), a consumer reporting agency which negligently violates its obligations to a consumer under the Fair Credit Reporting Act is liable to the consumer for his or her actual damages, as well as costs and attorney fees. Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a), such an agency which willfully violates its FCRA obligations is liable for the consumer's actual damages or an amount between $100 and $1000, as well as costs and attorney fees and, in the discretion of the court, punitive damages. As noted above, plaintiff's claims under Section 1681o and Section 1681n are each premised on Trans Union's alleged violation of two discrete FCRA obligations: to "follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy" of consumer reports, as required by 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b), and to "conduct a reasonable reinvestigation" of information contained in a consumer report once that information is disputed by a consumer, as required by 15 U.S.C. § 1681i. For the reasons set forth below, this court recommends finding that Trans Union is not entitled to summary judgment, but rather is entitled to partial summary judgment as to both of Saenz' claims to the extent premised on violation of Section 1681e(b) only.
The FCRA requires that consumer reporting agencies adopt and follow "reasonable procedures" to assure the "maximum possible...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Grigoryan v. Experian Info. Solutions, Inc.
...of the statements, and not simply her legal obligation to pay a debt [,] ... Carvalho [did] not apply”); accord Saenz v. Trans Union LLC, 621 F.Supp.2d 1074, 1080 (D.Or.2007) (holding, prior to Carvalho, that plaintiff demonstrated a prima facie inaccuracy by adducing evidence that Trans Un......
-
Stewart v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC
...v. DAC Servs., Inc. , 276 F.3d 1210, 1217 (10th Cir. 2002) (citation and internal quotation omitted); see also Saenz v. Trans Union LLC , 621 F.Supp.2d 1074, 1081 (D. Or. 2007) (quoting the same language recited in Cassara and concluding that defendant was entitled to rely on facially accur......
-
Taylor v. First Advantage Background Servs. Corp
...position in Darrin v. Bank of Am., N.A. , No. 2:12–CV–00228–MCE, 2014 WL 1922819, at *6 (E.D.Cal. May 14, 2014) and Saenz v. Trans Union, LLC, 621 F.Supp.2d 1074 (D.Or.2007). In Darrin , the plaintiff had a mortgage with Bank of America and sought a loan modification, for which she was even......
-
Dixon–rollins v. Experian Info. Solutions Inc.
...see e.g., Krajewski, 557 F.Supp.2d at 616; Crane, 282 F.Supp.2d at 320; Lawrence, 296 F.Supp.2d at 589; Saenz v. Trans Union, LLC, 621 F.Supp.2d 1074, 1083 (D.Or.2007) (Trans Union must do more than parrot information received by original source); Lambert v. Beneficial Mortgage Corp., No 05......