I filed a Complaint in federal district court in California, under the FCRA and the CCRAA (California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act), naming the following defendants: Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Equifax Inc. Bank of America, N.A. Equifax answered the Complaint, stating: "Equifax denies that it is a 'consumer reporting agency' as defined under the FCRA or the California Civil Code." As an affirmative defense, it stated: "'Equifax, Inc.' is not a 'consumer reporting agency' as defined unde the FCRA or the CCRAA, and therefore cannot be subject to or liable for any cause of action or claim purportedly arising thereunder." Equifax asked that the Complaint be dismissed "on the merits with prejudice." Apparently, Equifax, Inc. takes the position that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Equifax Credit Information Services LLC, is a CRA, but that the parent company, Equifax Inc., is not. I have not found any cases that support Equifax's contention; on the contrary, I have found several which seem to suggest otherwise, although not in any direct holdings. For example, in Cousin v. Trans Union Corporation (246 F.3d 359 (2001)), the Court notes in fn.2: "Cousin also sued Jerry Enis Motors and Equifax, Inc. ("Equifax"), another major consumer reporting agency, for failing to reinvestigate and delete information about the GMAC account." Equifax, Inc. and Equifax Credit Information Services, LLC have the same mailing address and the same agent for service of process in California. In fact, the attorney who filed the answer wrote in the caption, beneath his FAX number, "Attorneys for Defendant EQUIFAX CREDIT INFORMATION SERVICES LLC" This was obviously an error, as Equifax Credit Information Services LLC was not named in the Complaint. Apparently, the same attorney represents both entities and put the wrong boilerplate caption on the Answer. Anyway, here is my question... Should I: 1. leave it as is and hope that the Court decides that Equifax, Inc. is a CRA; 2. ask the Court for leave to amend the complaint to add Equifax Credit Information Services LLC as a defendant, but not to dismiss the Complaint against Equifax, Inc., contending that Equifax, Inc. is also a CRA; 3. ask the Court for leave to amend the complaint to add Equifax Credit Information Services LLC as a defendant, but not to dismiss the Complaint against Equifax, Inc., contending that Equifax, Inc., while not a CRA, is liable for the acts of its wholly-owned subsidiary; 4. ask the Court for leave to amend the complaint to add Equifax Credit Information Services LLC as a defendant, and consent to the requested dismissal with prejudice against Equifax, Inc.; 5. ask the Court for leave to amend the complaint to add Equifax Credit Information Services LLC as a defendant, and ask that the case be dismissed without prejudice against Equifax, Inc; or 6. something else. Thank you for your help!
This would best be answered by a competent counsel. I have not found any thread on this board addressing this situation that you find yourself in. I think that anyone here like ontrack, butch or always will ask you things like who have you been corresponding with to lead up to this suit? Atlanta or a local affiliate? Flyingifr has been through this with Equifax and I have just sued them in small claims. I am still waiting for a court date. I may be in for a rude surprise myself, but isn't that how these things go? Please go through any Lizardking or Flyingifr posts and that may help you. I will be looking for new info from you on your experience as I am really interested in how you fare. Are you willing to expand on what you are sueing for? My case is about reinsertion of deleted information.
Thanks! I was hoping to handle this case as an incompetent pro se. I have been sending correspondence to various P.O. boxes in Atlanta, GA, variously addressed to Equifax, Equifax Information Services, and Equifax Credit Information Services LLC. Essentially, I have been treating all three entities as a single company. I have also been telephoning Equifax at their toll free number. I assume, but do not know, that that number goes to a central customer service department rather than a local affiliate. I'll look at Lizardking's and Flyingifr's posts. I have previously posted on this board regarding my lawsuit. Please look at my previous posts for more information. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
Looks like you and I suffer from the same affliction. I got into this looking for a fair fight. No way! I went nowhere with the "attracting bees with honey" philosophy. Now I'm more of the "use a sledgehammer when you need a flyswatter" type of operator. The reason why I got an attorney and the reason why I lurked this board and picked through it for weeks to mine pertinant info is because I'm in this to WIN. I cannot help but conclude that the CA's and CRA's main purpose is to conduct a viable business which means turning a profit first and worrying about accuracy sometime afterward when it gets costly. I guess I have no problem with that until it affects ME AND MY BOTTOM LINE! Just being honest. If you do not have this, it might be helpful. Found it right here at Creditnet. EQUIFAX INC. 1550 PEACHTREE ST NE ATLANTA, GA 30309 Best Regards!
You named the wrong defendent in your suit. Petition the Court for leave to amend the complaint to include the correct defendent and to serve that defendant with process.
6. "Something else" might be an attractive option. Since the answer is signed by "Attorneys for Defendant EQUIFAX CREDIT INFORMATION SERVICES LLC" (who are not a defendant) then it seems the answer does not meet Rule 11 FRCP, which requires all pleadings to be signed by a party's attorney of record. (http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Rule11.htm) A motion to strike the answer on that grounds will get the attention of opposing counsel. He will quickly agree to let you amend your complaint. When amending, you'll want to name both companies as alternative defendants. It would be priceless to see the look on the attorney's face when he gets your motion to strike.
