CFPB and FTC File Amicus Brief Regarding FCRA’s Reinvestigation Requirement for Credit Reporting Agencies

Recently, the CFPB and FTC filed a joint amicus brief in a case alleging that a credit reporting agency (CRA) violated FCRA’s reinvestigation requirement by failing to reinvestigate incorrect personal identifying information impacting a consumer’s credit report.  The joint amicus brief argues that the district court correctly held that FCRA extends the reinvestigation requirement to personal identifying information, but that the district court incorrectly held that the CRA’s interpretation of FCRA was reasonable, and that the district court applied an incorrect standard in entering summary judgment in favor of the CRA.

The CFPB and FTC argue that both the plain text of FCRA and administrative guidance have made clear that the reinvestigation requirement extends to information such as consumer names, addresses, and social security number. Accordingly, the CFPB and FTC assert that the CRA’s interpretation that FCRA does not extend to such information was not objectively reasonable, and the district court erred in entering summary judgment in the CRA’s favor on that basis.

In addition, the CFPB and FTC argue that the district court incorrectly applied a single test for both willfulness and negligence.  The CFPB and FTC assert that the district court should have allowed the negligence claim to proceed, even if it was correct that the CRA’s interpretation of the reinvestigation requirement was objectively reasonable.