The Eighth Circuit’s recent decision in Schumacher v. SC Data Center, Inc. provides guidance on when alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act do not constitute a concrete injury sufficient to confer standing under the Supreme Court’s TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez decision. Given class-action plaintiffs’ fondness for claims seeking statutory damages, the potential ramifications of TransUnion — which was issued last summer and cast further doubt on whether plaintiffs have standing to recover statutory damages for technical violations of the FCRA and other statutes — have been a hot topic among the class-action bar. In fact, an entire panel discussion at this year’s ABA National Institute on Class Actions was devoted to TransUnion.
TAKEAWAY: While the full impact of TransUnion remains to be seen, Schumacher shows that plaintiffs may not have standing to pursue violations of the FCRA’s requirements that employers provide information to prospective employees.Continue Reading Plaintiffs’ Standing to Assert FCRA Violations Dealt Another Blow