Statutory Background Of Facta Litigation Essay - 939 Words

Before addressing the specific claims of this Comment, it is necessary to examine the statutory background of FACTA litigation, the realities of class action  § 1681c(g) litigation, the case law establishing what constitutes â€Å"willfulness,† and the standards for a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Sections I.A and I.B will examine FACTA and its underlying policies, as well as the reasons for the temporary safe harbor Congress later created for violations of the expiration date requirement. Next, Section I.C will explore the realities of  § 1681c(g) litigation, particularly the massive liability that defendants face from the aggregation of statutory damages via class action suits. Third, because the recovery of statutory damages depends on showing that a defendant willfully violated FACTA, Section I.D will explore Safeco, the Supreme Court decision establishing the meaning of willfulness in FACTA cases. Finally, Section I.E will examine the â€Å"new† pleading standard s established in Twombly and Iqbal in order to better inform the later discussion of pre- and post-Iqbal 1681c(g) case law. A. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act Congress passed FACTA on December 4, 2003, amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the â€Å"FCRA†). FACTA was intended to address identity theft by, among other provisions, requiring lenders to identify and respond to possible indications of identity theft, giving consumers greater control over their credit history and information, and establishing the rights