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Two Verisk Analytics Inc. units agreed to pay $18 million to settle three proposed class action lawsuits that allege the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to take reasonable measures to ensure the accuracy of background check reports provided to prospective employers.
The putative class action lawsuits targeted two Verisk units: Intellicorp Records Inc. and Insurance Information Exchange LLC. These companies provide consumer reports including background checks. In their class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs accuse the companies of violating the FCRA by providing incorrect, outdated or incomplete information to potential employers. Specifically, they argue that the defendants failed to provide certain consumers with copies of their consumer reports before delivering them to prospective employers and that the companies failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the reports.
The class action lawsuits alleged a number of issues with the background checks that were sent to prospective employers. Plaintiff Jane Roe (a pseudonym) indicated that a prospective employer received a copy of her background check that omitted material information that was available in public records, claiming that Intellicorp relied on out-of-date information when creating the report.
Plaintiff Michael Thomas, who claims he has no prior criminal history, accused Intellicorp of including the criminal history from other individuals. Due to this error, he claims he was falsely identified as a criminal and was thus disqualified from employment. Plaintiff Mark Johnson raised a similar complaint against Insurance Information Exchange.
The FCRA is a consumer protection statute that requires consumer reporting agencies to create policies that are fair and equitable to consumers with regard to the collection, dissemination and use of their consumer and credit information. In their class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs allege that the companies “fail to use ‘reasonable procedures’ necessary to ensure the ‘maximum possible accuracy’ of the reports they sell.” They also claim that Intellicorp violated the FCRA by failing to notify consumers when it compiles and sells a consumer report to an employer.
The defendants have denied all allegations set forth in the class action lawsuits, insisting that they complied with the FCRA at all times.
By filing the class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs were seeking a statutory damage award between $100 and $1,000 as permitted under the FCRA.
Proposed Class Members include all U.S. residents who were the subject of one or more consumer reports provided to a third party by Intellicorp or Insurance Information Exchange for employment purposes, which contained a “Criminal SuperSearch” result reflecting an arrest or conviction between April 16, 2010 and Sept. 16, 2013.
The parties agreed to a class action settlement amount of $18.6 million, which is equal to the monetary value of free consumer reports to all putative Class Members. The consumer reporting agencies also agreed to update and improve their reporting policies to maximize the accuracy of the reports.
The parties are also seeking to consolidate the three actions into a single class action lawsuit.
The proposed class action settlement is still subject to Court approval.
The plaintiffs are represented by O’Toole McLaughlin Dooley & Pecora Co. LPA, Chavez & Gertler LLP, Consumer Litigation Associates, Lyngklip & Associates Consumer Law Center PLC, The Law Offices of Devin H. Fok, A New Way of Life Reentry Project and Cohen Rosenthal & Kramer LLP.
The class action lawsuits are Jane Roe, et al. v. Intellicorp Records Inc., Case No. 1:12-cv-02288; Michael R. Thomas, et al. v. Intellicorp Records Inc., Case No. 1:12-cv-02433; and Mark A. Johnson, et al. v. Insurance Information Exchange LLC, Case No. 1:13-cv-00616, all in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.
UPDATE 1: Details on how to file a claim for the Intellicorp Background Check Class Action Settlement are up! Eligible consumers can receive between $50 and $2,000 if they file a valid claim by the April 21, 204 deadline.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Claim Form for this settlement requires you to enter the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. This appears to be the way the Settlement Administrator will verify that you were subject to an improper background check by the defendants. We ALWAYS encourage our readers to protect their personal information by confirming with the Settlement Administrator and/or law firms handling a case to ensure that such information is required. We are NOT a law firm or Settlement Administrator and cannot advise you on if you should submit your SSN. Information on how to contact the Settlement Administrator and law firms for the Intellicrop Background Check Class Action Settlement can be found at www.IntellicorpClassAction.com.
UPDATE 2: A federal judge granted final approval to the Intellicorp background check class action settlement on June 5, 2014. The first round of payments could be going out at the end of the summer/early fall and the second round in early 2015, according to some reports.
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222 thoughts onBackground Check Firms Agree to $18M Class Action Settlement
Good morning yall! The waiting game begins!
Making sure I dont spend it before I get it! I need it in my hand. I wish someone on here lived in PA because they will certainly get their check first and can confirm the amount to be received.
North Carolina here real deal; Washington DC ( Va) is between us PA. Let’s see if our stamps are paying off. Guess that depends on; (what part of which State) Ha? Saturday 14 here. I’m out until Mon.
questions@bgcthomassettlement.com”
Date: May 12, 2016 8:31 AM
Subject: Re: Check mailed on tomorrows date
To: “Orlando Ragan”
Cc:
The checks are being mailed Regular, first class mail. The approx. amount is $3,000. The actual amount is $3470.61.
Sorry it’s long and my copy paste skills suck haha . I called and verbally got that amount and email . When I called they said 3K I said I was told the 34 in email , then they confirmed $3470
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: “questions@bgcthomassettlement.com”
Date: May 12, 2016 8:31 AM
Subject: Re: Check mailed on tomorrows date
To: “Orlando Ragan”
Cc:
The checks are being mailed Regular, first class mail. The approx. amount is $3,000. The actual amount is $3470.61.
From: “Orlando Ragan”
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 11:10 AM
To: questions@bgcthomassettlement.com
Subject: Re: Check mailed on tomorrows date
I called earlier today and I was told a different approximate amount and I was told it would be first class mail? I just wonder why is the information different…
On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 8:08 AM, questions@bgcthomassettlement.com wrote:
The amount of the check will be approximately $3,000.
From: “Orlando Ragan”
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 6:01 PM
To: questions@bgcthomassettlement.com
Subject: Check mailed on tomorrows date
I know it can take a few days to arrive, I was curious now that it’s sent out as of tomorrow any idea how much I can expect?
Orlando Ragan
raganorl@gmail.com
Friday 13, May be getting a check on 14th! Haa ha! Thanks to the Administrator & team also. Their time is greatly appreciated ! :-) Thanks !!!!!!! Y’all take care
I called and emailed. The approximate is $3000 and the exact is $3470.60. They were mailed out in their words using regular First Class mail.
Thanks!
Your welcome
They told you this amount or how did you confirm that? … I plan to post when I get mine, it may take a few days since I live in Nebraska.
The first batch of checks were tripled from the approximate estimate indicated in the court documents. I knew we would get close to $2000 however some of the class members must have left the earth for us to get $3470. It is however based on the approved class members that actually returned the document. Unfortunately, we dont know the exact number of members. I will also post my check when I get it and I am in Texas.
I’m in Texas too. In Nacogdoches.
That’s WAY more than I expected!!!
TODAY IS MAILING DAY! Hopefully we will all receive the checks by Saturday. If my mailman is late that day I think I will completely skip calling the local and call Washington D.C. to complain. Just kidding! LOL
Also, I want to say how much I appreciate all of you for updating this site. It’s really helped make this week or so go faster. I’m so impatient. Lol
I emailed today and asked for the exact payment amount and they sent me the same email response that they sent yall :(
Just reviewed the official website (home page) and the site has been updated. Checks will be mailed out tomorrow 5/12/16. This means they will go out regular mail and most if not all should receive by the expected date of 5/17/16. I have received settlement checks before and they go out regular mail which makes sense. I would rather have the money in my pocket than have money be spent out of the settlement to send any other way.
Thanks for the update. I wonder if they would tell me the exact amount, verses the approximate $3,000. I may email them or just be patient and see. But…. patience has never been a strong point lol.
Let us know if they do :)
$3000 is definitely better than $2000 I’m grateful for it!