RICHARD G. ANDREWS, District Judge.
Plaintiff Peter Joshua Labreck, an inmate at FCI-Milan in Milan, Michigan, proceeds pro se and has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis. He filed this action on January 5, 2017, alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681, et seq. (D.I. 2). Plaintiff has filed an Amended Complaint and an addendum to the Amended Complaint. (D.I. 9, 11). The Court has jurisdiction by reason of a federal question under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Before the Court is a motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Bank of America, N.A. and its CEO, Brian Moynihan (together "moving Defendants").
Plaintiff alleges that Defendants continue to put incorrect information and/or outdated information on his consumer credit report including a wrongly displayed mortgage and home equity line of credit showing extensive delinquencies. (D.I. 9 at 2). Plaintiff alleges the delinquencies either: (1) do not belong to him; (2) are his but were paid in full during the second half of 2007; or (3) are his but he has made no payments since January 2008 and, therefore, by January 31, 2015, Defendants were obligated to stop reporting the accounts and delete them from his consumer credit reports. (Id.). Plaintiff alleges that no payments were made for well over seven years. (D.I. 11 at 2). Plaintiff alleges Defendants made it impossible for him to practice his chosen profession of real estate investor and to obtain loans/mortgages which resulted in lost wages. (D.I. 9 at 2). He also alleges that Defendants' actions are libelous. (Id.). Plaintiff alleges, "Defendants willing[ly], knowingly, and intentionally, and/or through gross, willful neglect failed to do an investigation, and/or a proper investigation after receiving notice of this consumer complaint." (D.I. 11 at 1-2). Plaintiff seeks judgment in the amount of $7,588,000. (D.I. 9 at 2).
Moving Defendants seek dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state any cognizable claim for relief under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) and, in the alternative, for improper venue under Rule 12(b)(3).
When venue is challenged, the Court must determine whether the case falls within one of the three categories set forth in § 1391 (b). See Atlantic Marine Constr. Co., 571 U.S. at 56. If it does, venue is proper; if it does not, venue is improper, and the case must be dismissed or transferred under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).
"Though `detailed factual allegations' are not required, a complaint must do more than simply provide `labels and conclusions'. or `a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action."' Davis v. Abington Mem'l Hosp., 765 F.3d 236, 241 (3d Cir. 2014) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). I am "not required to credit bald assertions or legal conclusions improperly alleged in the complaint." In re Rockefeller Ctr. Props., Inc. Sec. Litig., 311 F.3d 198, 216 (3d Cir. 2002). A complaint may not be dismissed, however, "for imperfect statement of the legal theory supporting the claim asserted." Johnson v. City of Shelby, 135 S.Ct. 346, 346 (2014).
A complainant must plead facts sufficient to show that a claim has "substantive plausibility." Id. at 347. That plausibility must be found on the face of the complaint. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). "A claim has facial plausibility when the [complainant] pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the [accused] is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. Deciding whether a claim is plausible will be a "context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Id. at 679.
Plaintiff raises his claims under the FCRA. The Amended Complaint alleges Defendants put incorrect information and/or outdated information on Plaintiff's consumer credit report. Moving Defendants argue the Amended Complaint does not state a plausible claim for relief under the FCRA. They contend the claim against Moynihan fails because it is deficiently pied. In addition, they argue the FCRA claim fails as a matter of law because neither Bank of America nor Moynihan are consumer reporting agencies
Plaintiff responds that Defendants are being sued as both users and furnishers of information. (D.I. 52 at 4) He argues that Defendants were obligated by the FCRA to stop reporting the delinquent mortgage and home equity line of credit seven years from the date of the first delinquency. (Id.). Plaintiff argues that Defendants continued reporting beyond January 2015 despite the fact that they "were notified, received notice of Plaintiff's complaints/disputes regarding [the] accounts." (Id.).
The FCRA, enacted in 1970, "created a regulatory framework governing consumer credit reporting" that `"was crafted to protect consumers from the transmission of inaccurate information about them, and to establish credit reporting practices that utilize accurate, relevant, and current information in a confidential and responsible manner."' Seamans v. Temple Univ., 744 F.3d 853, 860 (3d Cir. 2014) (quoting Cortez v. Trans Union, LLC, 617 F.3d 688, 706 (3d Cir. 2010)). One consumer protection generally requires that "accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss" be removed from consumer credit reports after seven years. See 15 U.S.C. § 1681 c. Under the FCRA, those who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies have two obligations: (1) to provide accurate information, 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a), and (2) to undertake an investigation upon receipt of a notice of dispute regarding credit information that is furnished, 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b). Violations of the obligation to provide complete and accurate information to consumer reporting agencies are not subject to a private cause of action "in the first instance," that is, before the consumer has disputed the information with a consumer reporting agency. See Seamans, 744 F.3d at 864. Finally, the FCRA "explicitly precludes private suits" for failure to comply with the duties set forth under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a), and "provides for enforcement of that provision by federal and state officials." Seamans, 744 F.3d at 864.
Duties of the furnisher of the information are not imposed until the furnisher receives notice from a consumer reporting agency, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(2), that a consumer has disputed information furnished by that furnisher/creditor. See Seamans, 744 F.3d at 864-65. Notice triggers the requirements of 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b). See id. To bring a claim under§ 1681s-2(b), Plaintiff must establish three elements: (1) he notified the consumer reporting agency of the disputed information, (2) the consumer reporting agency notified Defendant furnisher of the dispute, and (3) the furnisher failed to investigate and modify the inaccurate information. See, e.g., SimmsParris v. Countrywide Fin. Corp., 652 F.3d 355, 359 (3d Cir. 2011).
Under the FCRA, Bank of America is a furnisher of information, not a consumer reporting agency. Although the FCRA does not define "furnishers of information," it is "generally understood to include various types of creditors, such as banks and other lenders, that provide credit information about their customers to other entities that issue consumer reports about the customers' credit worthiness." Ross v. Washington Mut. Bank, 566 F.Supp.2d 468, 475 n.1 (E.D.N.C. 2008), aff'd, 625 F.3d 808 (4
As discussed above, the FCRA speaks expressly to the responsibility of consumer reporting agencies — not furnishers of information — in limiting the reporting of adverse items of information to only seven years after the adverse event. As a result, Plaintiff's § 1681 c adverse reporting claims against the moving Defendants, neither of which are consumer reporting agencies, fail as a matter of law.
The Amended Complaint does not state a claim against Bank of America as a furnisher of information. It alleges generally, "Defendant(s) . . . failed to do an investigation, and/or a proper investigation after receiving notice of this consumer complaint." (D.I. 11 at ¶ 3). The scant allegations do not identify any particular defendant (i.e., Bank of America or Trans Union), lack factual basis, and are conclusory. There is no allegation that Plaintiff gave notice of a dispute to a consumer reporting agency. Therefore, the Court will grant moving Defendants' motion to dismiss the § 1681s-2(b) claim to the extent Plaintiff intended to raise such a claim in his Amended Complaint. However, since it appears plausible that Plaintiff may be able to articulate a § 1681s-2(b) claim, he will be given an opportunity to amend his pleading.
Based upon the above discussion, the Court will grant Defendants' motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint.