Business Information Group Background Check Class Action Settlement

A $3.3 million settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit alleging Business Information Group Inc. violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act with regard to consumer reports procured for employment purposes.

If you were subject to at least one Business Information Group consumer report sourced from TransUnion, you may be entitled to benefits from the FCRA class action settlement.

Plaintiff Michael A. Kelly alleges that he was denied employment opportunities due to inaccuracies in a consumer report from BIG. According to the FCRA class action lawsuit, at least one consumer report that BIG provided to Kelly’s employer contained false and derogatory information.

In December 2013, BIG reportedly procured a consumer report from TransUnion about Kelly as part of a routine background screening, and BIG subsequently sold the consumer report to Kelly’s employer.

“Mr. Kelly suffered real world and actual harm in his employment because of the inaccurate, incomplete and out of date information in that consumer report,” the FCRA class action lawsuit says.

Kelly says that BIG failed to follow reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of the consumer reports and files it maintains on consumers.

BIG denies the allegations but agreed to settle the FCRA class action lawsuit to avoid the burden, risk and uncertainty of ongoing litigation.

The Business Information Group class action settlement was preliminarily approved on June 28, 2018.

Under the terms of the FCRA class action settlement, BIG will provide contemporaneous notice for consumer reports with public records sourced from TransUnion for five years. Class Members will also have the right to sue for damages.

Class Members who would like to opt out of or object to the Business Information Group settlement must do so no later than Oct. 9, 2018.

Who’s Eligible

Three Settlement Classes have been certified:

Injunctive Relief Class: Includes U.S. residents who were subject to at least one BIG consumer report sourced from TransUnion from Dec. 17, 2010 to June 28, 2018 and whose report contained a public record. There are approximately 276,000 members of this Class.

Rule 23(b)(2) Subgroup Class: Includes all Injunctive Relief Class Members who were subject to at least one BIG consumer report dated Dec. 17, 2013 to June 27, 2016, where the consumer report contained a public record (other than a bankruptcy) sourced from TransUnion, and where BIG’s records don’t reflect that the Class Member filed a dispute with BIG about the report. There are about 88,041 members of this Class.

Automatic Payment Class: Includes U.S. residents who were subject to at least one BIG consumer report dated Dec. 17, 2013 to June 27, 2016, where the consumer report contained a public record sourced from TransUnion and where BIG’s records show that the Class Member filed a dispute with BIG about the report. There are approximately 865 members of this Class.

Potential Award

$56 or $500 (estimates)

Injunctive Relief Class Members are not entitled to compensation; however, they have the right to sue individually for actual or punitive damages related to loss of employment, embarrassment or distress.

Rule 23(b)(2) Class Members can submit a Claim Form to receive a cash payment, which will be distributed pro rata. According to the settlement notice, if 10 percent of Rule 23(b)(2) Class Members file a claim, they will receive approximately $56.

Automatic Payment Class Members will be paid according to the number of points they are awarded based on their specific situation. It is estimated that the minimum payment will be approximately $500.

Proof of Purchase

N/A

No documentation is required to file a claim for the BIG class action settlement. However, members of the Automatic Payment Class may be entitled to a higher payment amount if they provide documentary evidence demonstrating they suffered damages as a result of the publication of the public record.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

10/9/2018

Case Name

Michael Kelly v. Business Information Group Inc., Case No. 2:15-cv-06668, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Final Hearing

11/1/2018

UPDATE: The Business Information Group Background Check Class Action Settlement was granted final approval on January 31, 2019.  Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Settlement Website

www.KellyvBIGSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Kelly v. BIG Settlement
c/o American Legal Claim Services LLC
P.O. Box 23678
Jacksonville, FL 32241-3678
800-687-0139

Class Counsel

James A. Francis
John Soumilas
Lauren KW Brennan
FRANCIS & MAILMAN PC

Kristi Cahoon Kelly
KELLY & CRANDALL PLC

Leonard A. Bennett
Matthew J. Erausquin
CONSUMER LITIGATION ASSOCIATES PC

Defense Counsel

Rod M. Fliegel
William J. Simmons
LITTLER MENDELSON PC