Branch v. Gov't Emps. Ins. Co.

286 F. Supp. 3d 771
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedDecember 19, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 3:16–cv–1010
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 286 F. Supp. 3d 771 (Branch v. Gov't Emps. Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Branch v. Gov't Emps. Ins. Co., 286 F. Supp. 3d 771 (E.D. Va. 2017).

Opinion

Robert E. Payne, Senior United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on GEICO'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (ECF No. 39). For the reasons set forth below, the motion will be denied.

BACKGROUND

A. Procedural Background

On December 30, 2016, Tiffanie Branch ("Branch") filed a Class Action Complaint on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, alleging that Government Employees Insurance Company ("GEICO") violated Section 1681b (b) (3) (A) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"). ECF No. 1. Branch then filed an Amended Class Action Complaint on April 11, 2017, which is the operative complaint here. ECF No. 23.

The parties' initial briefing on GEICO's motion concerned the class that Branch originally proposed, composed of individuals who were assigned a "Fail" grade by GEICO because of any deficiency in their background reports. Id. ¶ 56. However, at oral argument, Branch's counsel indicated that Branch would narrow the class to those individuals who were assigned a "Fail" grade by GEICO specifically because of the criminal history in their background reports. October 3, 2017 Transcript (ECF No. 60) at 42:16-20; September 27, 2017 Transcript (ECF No. 56) at 5:21-6:5. As a result, the parties filed supplemental briefs addressing the summary judgment issues in the context of the narrowed class, ECF No. 65, and this opinion addresses only that class.

B. Factual Background

1. Branch's Application to GEICO

Branch applied for employment with GEICO, and, on August 26, 2016, Branch accepted GEICO's offer to join the company as a Liability Claims Representative, which was contingent on a background check. Around the same time, Branch also completed GEICO's Supplemental Information Form for use in connection with the background check. On that form, Branch listed, as her only criminal conviction a December 2015 conviction for petit larceny.

On September 2, GEICO requested a background check on Branch from a consumer reporting agency, General Information Services ("GIS"). GIS completed Branch's background report ("the Report") and sent it to GEICO on September 21. The Report indicated that Branch had two criminal convictions on her record: the December 2015 misdemeanor petit larceny conviction, as well as, inaccurately, a 2011 *774felony petit larceny conviction. Camacho Decl. (ECF No. 40-4), Ex. 2 at 10. On September 21, after reviewing the Report, a GEICO employee, Brit Collins, assigned it a preliminary grade of "Fail."1

Later that day, another GEICO employee, Latoria Parker ("Parker"), called Branch regarding the contents of the Report. The exact details of the conversation are disputed. Branch said that Parker told her that GEICO's job offer was rescinded because of the 2011 felony conviction in the Report. Parker, on the other hand, testified that she informed Branch that she would receive a letter from GIS about the Report because GEICO had concluded that Branch's criminal history would preclude her from employment at GEICO, and that she could dispute the accuracy of the Report. The parties agree, however, that Branch told Parker that the 2011 conviction was a misdemeanor petit larceny conviction, not a felony. That night, Branch e-mailed Parker, further explaining that she had been charged with felony grand larceny but that she had pled guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge.

On September 22, 2016, on GEICO's behalf, GIS sent Branch a letter containing the Report and a summary of Branch's FCRA rights ("the Pre-Adverse Action Letter"). Branch could not recall whether she ever initiated a dispute with GIS about the accuracy of her Report. But, the record is that, by October 3, neither GIS nor GEICO had heard from Branch, so GIS sent Branch a letter stating that GEICO would not be hiring her based on the contents of the Report ("the Adverse Action Letter").

2. GEICO's Job Application Process

GEICO's background check process is described in its Adjudication Process for Background Checks ("the Adjudication Process"), Camacho Decl., Ex. 1, which was GEICO's official policy for the use of background reports during the class period, Camacho Decl. ¶ 4. Once GEICO extends a conditional job offer to an applicant, the applicant must complete a Supplemental Information Form, which contains information that a GEICO employee enters into GIS's system. Adjudication Process at 3-5. GIS then generates a background report and marks each portion of the report as either "Pass" or "Review," depending on whether that part satisfies GEICO's employment eligibility requirements. Once GIS completes the background report, a GEICO employee reviews it and assigns it a grade of "Pass" or "Fail," based on whether the report meets GEICO's eligibility requirements.2 Adjudication Process at 6. This review occurs in all cases, even if GIS has given the report a notation of "Pass." GEICO's "Fail" grade may be appropriate if the report contains felony *775convictions or certain misdemeanor convictions, or if the report shows a conviction that was not disclosed on the Supplemental Information Form.

As in Branch's case, after GEICO assigns a "Fail" grade, GIS sends the Pre-Adverse Action Letter, initiating a seven-business-day "cure period" during which the applicant can address the deficiency in the report that led to the "Fail" grade. When the "Fail" grade relates to the report's criminal history, the applicant must contact GIS directly to dispute the report's accuracy. Nonetheless, a GEICO employee must review the GIS system throughout the cure period to see if the applicant has addressed with GIS the deficiency leading to the "Fail" grade. If the applicant has done so, that employee is required to change the grade from "Fail" to "Pass." Id. at 7.

GIS then mails an Adverse Action Letter to any applicant whose background report still has a "Fail" grade at the end of the cure period, either because the applicant could not, or failed to, cure the inaccuracy. After GIS sends that letter, a GEICO employee informs the applicant that GEICO has rescinded the offer. The Adjudication Process precludes informing the applicant of the rescission before that point. Id. at 7-8.

During the class period, GEICO assigned a "Fail" grade based on criminal history to the background reports of 426 applicants.3 The final grades for the reports of 96 individuals were eventually changed to "Pass." In addition, the final grades for the reports of 14 applicants were eventually changed to "No Grade." Suppl. Camacho Decl. (ECF No. 68-1) ¶ 8.a-.b. This change would have occurred because the applicant did not proceed with the application process for reasons unrelated to the background report, such as failing the drug screening or withdrawing from consideration for a position. Adjudication Process at 8. Finally, the final grades for the reports of 316 applicants from the putative class remained "Fail" at the end of the cure period. Suppl. Camacho Decl. ¶ 8.b.

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standard

Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56

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286 F. Supp. 3d 771, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/branch-v-govt-emps-ins-co-vaed-2017.