Yelder v. Credit Bureau of Montgomery, L.L.C.

131 F. Supp. 2d 1275, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1782, 2001 WL 135660
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedFebruary 15, 2001
DocketCIV. A. 00-A-270-N
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 131 F. Supp. 2d 1275 (Yelder v. Credit Bureau of Montgomery, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Yelder v. Credit Bureau of Montgomery, L.L.C., 131 F. Supp. 2d 1275, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1782, 2001 WL 135660 (M.D. Ala. 2001).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ALBRITTON, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the court on Motions for Summary Judgment (docs.# 10, 12) filed by Defendants, Credit Bureau of Montgomery, L.L.C., (“CBM”) and Providian Financial Corporation (“Providian”). Plaintiff Bettie Yelder (“Yelder”) filed the instant suit in state court on January 28, 2000, alleging violations of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 eb seq., and state law claims of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and wantonness. Defendants removed the action to federal court. The court has federal question jurisdiction as to the FCRA claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and supplemental jurisdiction over all state claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367. For the reasons to be discussed, CBM’s Motion for Summary Judgement is due to be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, and Providian’s Motion for Summary Judgment is due to be GRANTED.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings, depositions, answers . to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The party asking for summary judgment “always bears the initial responsibility of *1279 informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the ‘pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,’ which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The movant can meet this burden by presenting evidence showing there is no dispute of material fact, or by showing, or pointing out to, the district court that the nonmoving party has failed to present evidence in support of some element of its case on which it bears the ultimate burden of proof. Id. at 322-324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

Once the moving party has met its burden, Rule 56(e) “requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by [its] own affidavits, or by the ‘depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,’ designate ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. To avoid summary judgment, the nonmoving party “must do more than show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). On the other hand, the evidence of the nonmovant must be believed and all justifiable inferences must be drawn in its favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

After the nonmoving party has responded to the motion for summary judgment, the court must grant summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

III. FACTS

The submissions of the parties establish the following facts, construed in a light most favorable to the nonmovant:

On or about January of 1999, Providian mailed a “pre-approved” VISA credit card offer to Bettie Holt Yelder at 4371 U.S. Highway 80, Lowndesboro, Alabama. 1 Providian received the reply card requesting a new VISA card. The reply card contained the following information: a signature bearing the name “Bettie Yelder,” her correct social security number, and incorrect work and home phone numbers. Based upon the reply card, Providian opened VISA account number 4479-5514-2351-7951 for Bettie H. Yelder, and mailed the card to the Lowndesboro address. Within thirty days, charges made on this credit card account reached the credit limit of $620.00. By March of 1999, the account was accruing both late and over the limit charges.

Yelder became aware of problems with her credit on or about May 5, 1999, when Security Alert Inc. denied her credit. Consequently, Yelder went to CBM and requested a copy of her credit report. On the credit request form’s reason for disclosure section, Yelder marked the box that states “I certify that I believe my file is inaccurate due to fraud.” The credit report listed the Providian Visa credit card account number 4479-5514-2351-7951. Yelder in turn contacted Providian and reported to them that she did not apply for the card and that someone must have fraudulently opened the account. Providi-an immediately changed the credit rating of the account to “lost/stolen” and generated a new number for the cardholder to use as a replacement. The new account number was 4479-4529-0025-1510.

In June of 1999, Providian’s fraud department reviewed Yelder’s claim of fraud and decided not to hold Yelder responsible for the charges. Providian’s fraud department notified Providian’s account maintenance department to send requests to the credit reporting agencies instructing them *1280 to remove any negative credit information relating to both the original and new account numbers. On June 16, 1999, the account maintenance department sent a request to the credit reporting agencies as to the new account number. The account maintenance department did not send a request to the credit reporting agencies to remove the information concerning the original account number.

Sometime in August, a store refused Yelder’s credit card due to her “bad” credit. On or about September 15, 1999, Yelder returned to CBM and requested another credit report. On the credit request form, she once again marked the box “I certify that I believe my file is inaccurate due to fraud.” She also noted on the form “Providian Visa.” In November 1999, A-Plus Mortgage informed Yelder and her husband that they must repay the $842.00 Providian credit card debt before A-Plus Mortgage would give them a home equity loan. Yelder paid the debt. Yelder also completed a third request for disclosure form and again checked the box that states “I certify that I believe my file is inaccurate due to fraud.” Soon after, Yelder brought this suit. ■

IV. DISCUSSION

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Bluebook (online)
131 F. Supp. 2d 1275, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1782, 2001 WL 135660, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yelder-v-credit-bureau-of-montgomery-llc-almd-2001.