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A $13.5 million class action settlement against LexisNexis Risk & Information Analytics Group, Inc. alleging that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was given final approval by a Virginia federal judge Friday.
LexisNexis has a service for debt collectors called Accurint, in which it sells financial information about debtors they are trying to collect on.
According to the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, LexisNexis has sold its “Accurint brand reports to debt collectors without treating the reports as ‘consumer reports’ within the meaning of the the FCRA,” U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer explained in his final ruling.
LexisNexis has argued “that Accurint reports are not ‘consumer reports’ within the meaning of the FCRA, and as a result, have not attempted to afford customers with respect to the Accurint reports that the FCRA requires with respect to ‘consumer reports.'”
The LexisNexis class action lawsuit included two classes — the impermissible use class and the file request and dispute class.
The impermissible use class includes “every person listed in the Accurint reports.”
The file request and dispute class is for every person who requested a copy of their file” from LexisNexis and “every person who filed a dispute regarding the information reported,” from Oct. 1, 2006 through April 29, 2013, which is about 31,000 people.
Each person that falls in this class will receive about $300, unless they either excluded him or herself from the settlement or objected to it by July 12, 2013. If a class member received a postcard notifying them of this class action settlement, he or she does not have to do anything to receive their settlement payment.
The impermissible use class will receive injunctive relief. This class includes about 200 million people.
LexisNexis “will implement a substantial, nationwide program that addresses the issues raised in the complaint . . . and will result in a significant shift from the currently accepted industry practices.”
As a result, LexisNexis will “become the industry leader among data aggregation companies in the protection of customer information provided to debt collectors.”
Specifically, LexisNexis “will overhaul their currently existing Accurint for Collections (AFC) suite of products for the Receivables Management Market, which they currently do not treat as ‘consumer reports’ as defined by the FCRA,” Judge Spencer explained.
“The Defendants will split AFC into two newly developed suites of products and services,” he wrote. “The first suite, called ‘Collections Decisioning,’ falls within the FCRA definition of a ‘consumer report’ and will be treated as such.
“The second suite, called ‘Contact & Locate,’ will not be treated as falling within the ‘consumer report’ definition under the FCRA because the Parties agree it does not fall within the FCRA definition,” he added.
In 2013, LexisNexis agreed to the allegations by the class, that it violated the FCRA.
However, Judge Spencer explained that the Federal Trade Commission sees it differently.
“In this case, all of Plaintiffs’ claims are predicated on Accurint reports being deemed “consumer reports” within the meaning of the FCRA,” Judge Spencer wrote. “However, the FTC in 2008 voted unanimously that Accurint for Collection reports do not fall within the FCRA and do not involve credit reports.”
“Absent some authority to the contrary, the merit of Plaintiffs’ claims — and, necessarily, the absent class members’ theoretical future claims — is speculative at best,” he contends.
“For this reason, the benefit of substantial relief without the risk of litigation demonstrates the adequacy of the Settlement Agreement,” he added.
Information for receiving a settlement check is provided by a website set up for the purpose of informing class members.
Please let Top Class Actions know in the comments section if you receive a check from this LexisNexis class action settlement.
The LexisNexis Accurint Fair Credit Reporting Class Action Lawsuit is Gregory Thomas Berry et al., v. LexisNexis Risk & Information Analytics Group, Inc. et al., Case No. 3:11-cv-00754-JRS in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division.
The class is represented by Leonard Bennett of Consumer Litigation Associates, Dale Pittman, Michael Caddell of Caddell & Chapman, and James Francis of Francis & Mailman.
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104 thoughts onLexisNexis Pays $13.5M Fair Credit Reporting Class Action Settlement
I just wanted to give an update on the case. The Supreme Court didn’t hear the case which meant the settlement went into effect in October 2016. I just spoke with the claims administrator of the settlement and she said they are waiting to get final approval and have to make sure there are no duplicate filings as some people filed more than one claim even though they are only being paid for the one. She said a total of 31,000 people are in the class and we should receive a refund check between $275 and $300 and it is her goal to start mailing the checks out the first week of February. I said so I should expect a check by March and she said no mam it will be before March. She was very nice and even called me back to explain how everything works. So yes people we will be getting paid and this was not a scam like some of us thought myself included. I will report back to you as soon as I get my check!!
I just wanted to offer a little update on this case as I am a class member as well. It said on the website that the settlement offer has been accepted by all the courts an they should have started sending checks out in December. I haven’t received anything yet and I’m wondering how long it will take. Has anyone else received anything?
Can someone please give me some info on who to contact or call for the falsely reporting information about me thats inaccurate. Ive been dealing with this for a couple years now. Can’t get lexisnexis do anything. Thanks in advance
We offer a submission form on our website for you to fill out if you are seeking class action legal help. Attorneys will then review your submission to determine if you have a case. If they feel you qualify, they will contact you directly. You can submit your information here: https://topclassactions.com/start-a-class-action/. You may want to consult your own attorney, and should you choose to go that route, we recommend checking out http://www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney. Once there, you will be able to search a broad database of specialized attorneys in your area that you may consult.
Information is posted on botton of credit report
I am starting to believe this is a scam too lol, the website hasn’t been updated in yrs and now you can’t access certain questions on the website which makes me feel certain people got paid an us little ones didn’t. I will doing my own investigation an will report back what I find out an today is 9-25-16.
There were three appeals to the settlement filed. In December 2015, the appeals court affirmed the original settlement. However, an appeal has now been filed with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has not yet rendered a decision on whether or not they will hear the case. Unfortunately, claims will not be paid until the Supreme Court appeal is resolved.
I wonder did the court receive the money and kept for themselves.
Totally gave up on this until a friend of mine had moved and got married and her last name changed since registering for this and they called her for her updated address and name. Why would they need that if they weren’t goING to pay. Hmmmm not sure what to think. They even said lexisnexis
I got the post card in the mail over 2 years ago, and still no check! I mean are they allowed to do this? because I’mmm starting to think that we’re the only ones that didn’t get paid..
Did anyone on this threat ever get the false information that was posted about them from Lexis Nexis?
What false information? They told me it would be mailed out but after contacted them earlier in the year, the court rep told me it went in on apoeal. Called in April and they told me it was sent to Higher Supreme Court and she had no other information regarding it.
4/27/2016 – I have the postcard and have not received a check. The filedisputereportclass.com website has not been updated since October 2014. Does anyone have the direct telephone# for the lawyer?
Does this include WattsGuerra Attirneys
This whole lawsuit thing is ridiculous. I was told last year that checks were suppose to be mailed out in July 2015?? When calling to inquire later in the months, they said it was appealed and they have 30 days. It is March and still no chevk and not even information provided to contact anybody. Something isn’t right