Excerpted from lexology.com, by Annica Bianco
On November 12, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case that would have clarified an important issue in Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) litigation, a popular source of no-injury class action litigation. The petition sought review of a Ninth Circuit decision in a putative class action holding that an “informational injur[y]” constitutes a “real-world harm” sufficient to establish standing for purposes of FCRA litigation. Petition for Writ of Certiorari at 4, M-I LLC v. Syed, No. 16-1524 (June 19, 2017).
What constitutes an informational injury, practically speaking? The answer is far from clear. In Syed, the alleged “informational injury” arose from the simple fact that the prospective employer combined into one document the required FCRA disclosure with a liability waiver. Syed v. M-I, LLC, 853 F.3d 492, 499 (9th Cir. 2017). Plaintiff’s signature on that single document served as both an authorization for the employer to procure his consumer report and as a broad release of liability. Id. Plaintiff alleged that the combination generated confusion concerning his rights and that he would not have authorized the disclosure had it been a standalone document. Id. The Ninth Circuit held those allegations were sufficient to establish standing. Id. at 500.
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