Judge Rules Indian Tribe Immune From FACTA Compliance

A federal court judge has ruled that the Oneida Wisconsin Tribe is immune from a class action lawsuit for printing confidential information on‎ credit card receipts in violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act.

U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach issued the ruling citing that Indian tribes are generally immune to legal actions and that while Congress does have “plenary authority” over Indian tribes, courts are restricted from challenging Indian self-government and that the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) does not specifically reference Indian tribes.

Overview of Wisconsin Tribe FACTA Class Action Lawsuit

The Oneida Tribe was named in a FACTA class action lawsuit claiming credit and debit card receipts at Oneida One-Stop locations did not properly shorten the numbers on credit and debit cards. The FACTA complaint also claims the transaction receipts included card expiration dates.

The FACTA class action, filed by plaintiff Jeremy M., claims that in February 2015, several One-Stop locations printed more than the last five digits of his credit card along with the expiration date on his transaction receipts.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003 strictly states electronic receipts may not include more than the last five digits of the credit or debit card number. It also prohibits the printing of the card’s expiration date. FACTA allows for damages in the amount of $100 to $1000 per violation.

According to the FACTA lawsuit

“Most of the (Oneida Tribe’s) business peers and competitors readily brought their credit card and debit card receipt printing process into compliance with FACTA by, for example, programming their card machines and devices to prevent them from printing more than the last five digits of the credit or debit card or printing the expiration date on the card upon the receipts provided to the cardholders. (The Oneida Tribe) could have readily done the same. The (Oneida Tribe) negligently, recklessly and/or willfully disregarded FACTA’s requirements and continued to use cash registers or other machines or devices that print receipts in violation of FACTA.”

Jeremy’s counsel plans to appeal the decision to the Seventh Circuit and intends to pursue the FACTA violation claim all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States if necessary.

What is FACTA?

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, or FACTA, is a federal law enacted in 2004 that permits only the last five digits of a credit card number to be printed on a credit or debit card receipt and must also not include the expiration date.

For each willful FACTA violation, courts are instructed to impose $100 to $1,000 in damages, in addition to possible punitive damages.

FACTA was enacted, in part, to address the security practices of merchants who accept payment via credit or debit cards. FACTA targets the growing problem of identity theft as credit and debit card numbers along with expiration dates displayed on printed receipts can put consumers at risk for identity theft and fraud.

If you were provided an electronically printed credit or debit card receipt at the point of sale or transaction on which the expiration date or number of your credit or debit card was printed, you may be eligible to file a FACTA lawsuit. Any violation carries a statutory penalty of between $100 and $1,000 for each willful FACTA violation.

The FACTA Class Action Lawsuit is Case No.15-cv-445 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Free FACTA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you made one or more purchases and the retailer provided you with a receipt that contained more than the last five digits of your credit or debit card number or the expiration date, you may be eligible for a free class action lawsuit investigation and to pursue compensation for these FACTA violations.

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