Cameron v. Greater New Orleans Federal Credit Union

713 F. App'x 238
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 8, 2018
Docket17-30592 Summary Calendar
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 713 F. App'x 238 (Cameron v. Greater New Orleans Federal Credit Union) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cameron v. Greater New Orleans Federal Credit Union, 713 F. App'x 238 (5th Cir. 2018).

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

James Cameron appeals the district court’s grant of Experian’s motion for summary judgment and rejecting his claims brought under the Fair Credit Re-, porting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.

I.BACKGROUND

In February 2006, Cameron purchased a vehicle using a $21,594.02 loan from Greater New Orleans Federal Credit Union (“GNO”). In December 2008, after several missed or late payments, Cameron’s account with GNO became delinquent and did not return to current status. GNO charged off the remaining $14,284 balance and reported it to Experian in .2009. Between June 2013 and October 2015, Cameron requested that GNO and Experian remove the allegedly erroneous delinquency from his credit report. Athough Expe-rian first refused to remove the information after GNO verified its accuracy, it purged the GNO credit line from Cameron’s credit report in October 2015.

Cameron contends that as a result of Experian’s erroneous report, he suffered actual damages because his poor credit prevented him from securing financing and subjected him to higher interest rates, causing humiliation and emotional distress. Subsequently, Cameron brought this action against Experian and GNO in the Western District of Oklahoma. After that court dismissed GNO for lack of personal jurisdiction, Cameron refiled in the Eastern District of Louisiana, and the case against Experian was transferred and consolidated with the GNO action. After filing a motion for summary judgment on all claims against it but before the district court could- rule on the motion, GNO reached a settlement with Cameron. After the close of discovery, 1 Experian also filed a motion.for summary judgment asserting that Cameron provided no evidence to support the necessary elements - of his claim and he had sustained no compensable damages. The district court agreed with Expe-rian and dismissed Cameron’s claims. Cameron timely filed this appeal.

II.STANDARD OF REVIEW

“We review the district court’s summary judgment ruling de novo, applying the same legal standard as the district court.” Bacharach v. Suntrust Mortg., 827 F.3d 432, 434 (5th Cir. 2016) (per curiam). Summary judgment is appropriate where the moving party establishes “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). As the plaintiff, Cameron bears the burden of proof at trial. In response to Experian’s motion for summary judgment, Cameron must present evidence that raises a genuine issue of material fact. See Nichols v. Enterasys Networks, Inc., 495 F.3d 185, 188 (5th Cir. 2007). Notwithstanding this burden, the court views the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994).

III.DISCUSSION

Cameron’s argument is that Experian reported erroneous information on his credit report and delayed removing the information upon being notified of its error. We need not decide whether Experi-an’s practices constituted a violation of the FCRA because even assuming, arguendo, that Experian reported erroneous information, Cameron fails to raise a genuine issue of material fact that demonstrates that Experian acted willfully or that he was actually damaged by these actions. See Nichols, 495 F.3d at 188.

A, Willful Noncompliance

The FCRA provides for civil liability in 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n and 1681o. Whether the violation was willful or negligent dictates the type of damages awarded. If a violation is willful, the defendant is subject to punitive damages. 15 U.S.C. § 1681n. However, if a plaintiff fails to show that the violations are willful, a defendant will only be held liable for the plaintiffs actual damages. See 15 U.S.C. § 1681o. If a plaintiff fails to demonstrate willfulness and actual damages, the claim must fail. According to section 1681n, a defendant commits a willful violation and is subject to punitive damages only if it engages in “willful misrepresentations or conceal-ments.” 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a)(2); see also Stevenson v. TRW, Inc., 987 F.2d 288, 294 (5th Cir. 1993) (quoting Pinner v. Schmidt, 805 F.2d 1258, 1263 (5th Cir. 1986)). Noncompliance is considered willful when the defendant “knowingly and intentionally committed an act in conscious disregard for the rights of others.” Pinner, 805 F.2d at 1263. A failure to adequately investigate and swiftly correct inaccurate information generally does not constitute a willful violation, See id. at 1262-63.

Cameron provides no evidence of willful noncompliance. He recites case law addressing section 1681n and concludes that Experian’s actions sufficed. Cameron never points to which of Experian’s actions constituted willful noncompliance, nor does he analyze how Experian knowingly and intentionally committed these actions. Cameron generally alleges that Experian maintained insufficient procedures that facilitated the reporting of inaccurate information and delayed the process of correcting that information. However, he provides no evidence that these activities were done knowingly and intentionally. Therefore, the district court did not err in dismissing Cameron’s section 1681n claims.

B. . Actual Damage

Having failed to show Experian willfully misreported Cameron’s credit information, in order to prevail on a section 1681o claim, Cameron must demonstrate that Experian’s actions caused him actual damages. 15 U.S.C. § 1681o. Cameron alleges that as a result of Experian reporting inaccurate information and failing to correct it after multiple requests, financial institutions denied him credit or offered credit at much higher interest rates, which caused him humiliation and financial and emotional distress.

a. Credit Denial

Section 1681o provides for recovery if the defendant’s erroneous credit report resulted in the plaintiff’s credit denial or higher interest rates.

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Bluebook (online)
713 F. App'x 238, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cameron-v-greater-new-orleans-federal-credit-union-ca5-2018.