ST. LOUIS – A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss a case filed by a woman who alleged several credit reporting agencies violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
On April 1, Judge John A. Ross of the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division, denied RAC Acceptance East LLC's motion to dismiss Keisha Bevly's claim. RAC said Bevly did not provide enough evidence in her claim, but Ross found that her complaint did provide sufficient evidence.
"On a motion to dismiss, this is sufficient factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that RAC is liable for the misconduct alleged," Ross wrote.
Bevly filed suit against RAC, Equifax, TransUnion, Acceptance Now and the St. Louis Community Credit Union alleging that Equifax and Trans Union violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act when they failed to notate on her credit report that she had a bankruptcy discharged.
According to the ruling, RAC contended that Bevly's allegations "are so threadbare and conclusory that RAC cannot discern the improper conduct in which it allegedly engaged and to meaningfully contest it."
The ruling states Bevly filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2015. In September 2015, she received an order of discharge from the bankruptcy court. However, after receiving her credit report from Equifax and TransUnion in August 2017, an account listed with RAC without a notation of bankruptcy discharge was present, the ruling states.
Bevly contends that without this notation, a creditor may be misled into believing that the account is still open and active. She alleges the defendants “failed or refused to report the Errant Trade Line with the notation of bankruptcy discharge,” the ruling states.
RAC maintained that the plaintiff's complaint contained no details or facts about what RAC did communicate in response to the purported communication from Equifax and TransUnion, and no facts regarding the information allegedly provided by Equifax and TransUnion to RAC, or what RAC allegedly did in response.