TransUnion has filed an appeal in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco Division, challenging a Ninth Circuit Court ruling that denied its motion for judgment and request for a new trial.
TransUnion is represented by Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP of Los Angles.
A judgment was entered in California Ramirez v. TransUnion LLC on June 20 which awarded a class of 8,185 consumers $8 million in statutory damages and $52 million in punitive damages.
TransUnion was accused of violating provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by not accurately providing information on consumers to lenders and other consumers.
As a result of those allegations, a class-action lawsuit was filed in 2012.
The final verdict was reached before a magistrate of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
In the original complaint, the alleged errors by TransUnion happened when the class action’s lead plaintiff, Sergio L. Ramirez, was denied the ability to obtain a loan to purchase a car when a TransUnion consumer report indicated he was a match to an individual found on the SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), credit reporting agencies (CRAs), suchas TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian are required to provide accurate information about consumers to lenders and allow individuals to review this information and dispute it if incorrect.
There are civil penalties that exceed $290,000 per transaction made for companies that conduct business with individuals and other entities found on the SDN list. Because of this, companies are given an incentive to avoid penalties and other regulatory actions by not doing business with these individuals.
In the complaint, Ramirez argued TransUnion made no apparent effort to ensure his consumer report file was accurate. This also was true for several thousand other consumers, thus forming the class action against the firm, forming the foundation of the case against the company.