Okereke v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc.

The Middle District of Florida recently explained what information plaintiffs must provide in their complaint when alledging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  In Okereke v. Experian Info. Sols., Inc., No. 8:18-cv-1347-T-24 AAS, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186055 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 31, 2018), the furnisher of the information, Wells Fargo, argued:

Wells Fargo argues that Plaintiff’s FCRA claim is insufficient because his allegations are not precise. For example, Wells Fargo argues that it is not clear whether Plaintiff is alleging that Wells Fargo failed to conduct any investigation or whether Wells Fargo conducted an inadequate investigation (and how such investigation was inadequate). Additionally, Wells Fargo argues that Plaintiff does not identify which specific information Wells Fargo failed to review, which results Wells Fargo failed to report, and which information was found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable.

The Court rejected this argument by holding:

Plaintiff responds that Wells Fargo is in a better position to know the specifics of any investigation that it may have undertaken. Given that Wells Fargo is in control of such information, Plaintiff points out that discovery is needed in order for him to know what actions Wells Fargo took in response to his dispute. Upon consideration, the Court agrees with Plaintiff and rejects Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss the FCRA claim.

As the Court further explained, Plaintiffs must allege:

(1) failed to conduct an investigation with respect to the disputed information; (2) failed to review all relevant information provided by the consumer reporting agency pursuant to § 1681i(a)(2) of the FCRA; (3) failed to report the results of the investigation to the consumer reporting agency; or, (4) if an item of information disputed by a consumer is found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified after any reinvestigation, failed to modify, delete, or permanently block the reporting of that item of information.

Since the Court found that the Plaintiff did sufficiently make these allegations, the Court allowed Plaintiff’s complaint to proceed.