Screen v. Equifax Information Systems, LLC, CIV.A.DKC 2003-3305.

• Court: United States District Courts. 4th Circuit. United States District Court (Maryland)
• Writing for the Court: Chasanow
• Citation: 303 F.Supp.2d 685
• Parties: Angela SCREEN v. EQUIFAX INFORMATION SYSTEMS, LLC, et al.
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A.DKC 2003-3305.,CIV.A.DKC 2003-3305.
• Decision Date: 15 January 2004

303 F.Supp.2d 685 Angela SCREEN
v.
EQUIFAX INFORMATION SYSTEMS, LLC, et al. No. CIV.A.DKC 2003-3305. United States District Court, D. Maryland. January 15, 2004.

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Sonya Anjanette Smith, Smith Morton LLC, Riverdale, MD, for Plaintiff:

Nathan Daniel Adler, Neuberger Quinn Gielen Rubin and Gibber PA, Baltimore, MD, Robert W Hesselbacher, Jr, Wright Constable and Skeen LLP, Baltimore, MD, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHASANOW, District Judge.

Presently pending and ready for resolution in this Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case is the motion by Defendant Town and Country Management, Inc. (Town & Country) to dismiss, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2), for lack of personal jurisdiction. The issues have been fully briefed and the court now rules, no hearing being deemed necessary. Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, the court will grant the motion to dismiss. However, the court will allow the parties 15 days to express views on whether the entire case should be transferred to a proper locale where both Defendants may be sued or whether the claims against Defendant Town & Country should be dismissed and the case against Equifax remain in this court.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

The following are facts alleged by Plaintiff Angela Screen. Plaintiff, now a resident of Maryland, leased an apartment in Alabama from Defendant Town and Country Management, Inc. (Town & Country) from June 1996 through August 1996, during which time she paid her rent in full

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and on time. In August 1996, Plaintiff terminated her lease with Defendant Town & Country, and moved to Maryland. In October 1997, Defendant Town & Country reported to Defendant Equifax Information Services, LLC (Equifax) that Plaintiff owed a balance of $1,460. In March 2003, Plaintiff attempted to obtain a mortgage loan through the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, which obtained a combined credit report from Defendant Equifax and two other credit reporting agencies.

Plaintiff subsequently contacted Defendant Equifax and spoke with an agent who informed her that Defendant Town & Country had verified the outstanding balance. On various dates from June 2003 through August 2003, Plaintiff contacted Defendant Town & Country by telephone, "requesting and demanding" that the allegedly incorrect credit information as reported by Defendant Equifax be corrected. Paper 1 at ¶ 34. An employee with Defendant Town & Country confirmed that it did not have any record of the balance and informed Plaintiff that it would issue a correction to Defendant Equifax. Plaintiff ultimately was denied credit for the mortgage loan.

B. Procedural Background

On November 18, 2003, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendants Equifax and Town & Country, alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., and defamation. Defendant Town & Country has moved to dismiss the complaint against it, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2), for lack of personal jurisdiction.

II. Standard of Review

When a court's power to exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant is challenged by a motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2), "the jurisdictional question is to be resolved by the judge, with the burden on the plaintiff ultimately to prove grounds for jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence." Carefirst of Maryland, Inc. v. Carefirst Pregnancy Centers, Inc., 334 F.3d 390, 396 (4th Cir. 2003) (citing Mylan Labs., Inc. v. Akzo, N.V., 2 F.3d 56, 59-60 (4th Cir.1993)). If the existence of jurisdiction turns on disputed facts, the court may resolve the challenge after a separate evidentiary hearing, or may defer ruling pending receipt at trial of evidence relevant to the jurisdictional question. Combs v. Bakker, 886 F.2d 673, 676 (4th Cir.1989). If the court chooses to rule without conducting an evidentiary hearing, relying solely on the basis of the complaint, affidavits and discovery materials, "the plaintiff need only make a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction." Carefirst of Maryland, 334 F.3d at 396. See also Mylan Labs., 2 F.3d at 60; Combs, 886 F.2d at 676. In determining whether the plaintiff has proven a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction, the court "must draw all reasonable inferences arising from the proof, and resolve all factual disputes, in the plaintiffs favor." Mylan, 2 F.3d at 60; Carefirst of Maryland, 334 F.3d at 396.

A court may not exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant unless the activities of that individual are sufficient to subject the party to that forum's long-arm statute. Maryland's long-arm statute, Md.Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 6-103(b), authorizes the exercise of personal jurisdiction to the limits permitted by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. See ALS Scan, Inc. v. Digital Service Consultants, Inc., 293 F.3d 707, 710 (4th Cir.2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1105, 123 S.Ct. 868, 154 L.Ed.2d 773 (2003); Base Metal Trading, Ltd. v. OJSC "Novokuznetsky Aluminum

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Factory," 283 F.3d 208, 212-13 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 822, 123 S.Ct. 101, 154 L.Ed.2d 30 (2002), Thus, the inquiry for the court is whether the defendant purposefully established "minimum contacts" with Maryland such that maintenance of the suit does not offend "traditional notions of Fair `play and substantial justice." International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 416, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945) (quoting Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940)). See also Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewiez, 471 U.S. 462, 474, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985); Base Metal Trading, Ltd., 283 F.3d at 213.

The crucial issue is whether the defendant's contacts with the forum state, here Maryland, are substantial enough that it "should reasonably anticipate...