Tag: Appellate Court

An Illinois Appellate Court Rejects a Consumer’s FCRA Counterclaim Against Information Furnisher The Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, reversed the order of a trial court that dismissed the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) counterclaim of a debtor against a bank. However, the Appellate Court rejected the debtor’s motion to amend his claim so as to include punitive damages. The FCRA contains a provision that states that a furnisher party could be held civilly liable if it does not comply with FCRA requirements. The FCRA also requires consumer reporting agencies (CRA) to inform a furnisher if a consumer reports an alleged error in their credit report to the CRA. Once the CRA notifies the furnisher of the dispute, the furnisher is required to investigate the issue. In this case, the debtor claims to have informed the CRA of the creditor’s alleged billing error, and yet the creditor did not correct the error. The debtor also stated that the creditor issued inaccurate credit reports that were based on the billing error. The creditor made a motion to dismiss the case that included a declaration stating that it did not have a record of having received an automatic consumer dispute verification from a consumer reporting agency concerning the debtor’s account during the relevant time period. The plaintiff in the case claimed that a declaration was not adequate since an affidavit was necessary, and the declaration did not contain the affirmative matter necessary to support the motion for dismissal by the defendant. The Appellate Court disagreed, however, and found that the declaration did suffice in form as it was made under penalty of perjury, and the information contained was based upon the personal knowledge of the declarant as well the creditor’s own records. But, the Appellate Court also stated that although the form was adequate, the substance it contained was not an affirmative matter. Alternatively, it consisted of evidence disputing the facts given in the complaint. Thus the Court clarified that the declaration only pointed out a factual matter, and this was not appropriate for a motion for dismissal because it contained a denial of the debtor’s substantial allegation made in their FCRA counterclaim. Because of this, the Appellate Court reversed the order that granted the motion for dismissal made by the creditor. However, the Court found that the trial court was correct in its finding that the debtor did not provide any facts to support their claim that the creditor had deliberately disregarded the FCRA. Therefore, the Appellate Court found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in its ruling to deny the plaintiff the right to amend their claim to include punitive damages. Additionally, the Appellate Court also affirmed the trial court’s denial of the motion for civil contempt because it found that the record disproved the debtor’s argument. Learn more about how to stay in compliance with fair chance hiring practices with Pre-employ’s free guide on 5 Tips To Avoid FCRA Non-Compliance. Source

Tag: Appellate Court

An Illinois Appellate Court Rejects a Consumer’s FCRA Counterclaim Against Information Furnisher

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