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Carvalho v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC

Carvalho v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

February 11, 2010, Argued and Submitted, San Francisco, California; December 16, 2010, Amended

No. 09-15030

Opinion

 [*881]  AMENDED OPINION

O'SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:

We must decide whether a credit reporting agency is liable for a disputed credit report under California's Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act.

In October 2001, Noemia Carvalho received medical  [**2] treatment from Bayside Medical Group, Inc. ("Bayside"), in Pleasanton, California. Prior to receiving her  [*882]  treatment, Carvalho signed the following agreement ("Agreement"):

Bayside Medical Group, Inc., will bill your insurance as a courtesy to you. If your insurance does not pay the claim within 90 days of the date of service, the balance of your account will be your responsibility. ... I hereby authorize my insurance company to pay benefits directly to Bayside Medical Group, Inc., and I am financially responsible for non-covered services.

As a result of her treatment, Carvalho incurred charges amounting to $118.

For reasons that remain unclear, 1 Bayside received no payment from her insurance company within the ninety days provided in the Agreement. Bayside sent Carvalho a bill for $118 in January 2002, as well as a "final notice" in March 2003. Neither Carvalho nor any insurer paid the bill.

Thereafter, Bayside assigned the debt to Credit  [**3] Consulting Services ("CCS"), a collection agency. CCS sent Carvalho a series of dunning letters threatening to report the debt to three major credit reporting agencies—Equifax Information Services, LLC ("Equifax"), Experian Information Solutions, Inc. ("Experian"), and TransUnion LLC ("TransUnion") (collectively, "CRAs")—if she did not pay the bill. Despite these warnings, Carvalho still did not pay the bill or arrange for payment by her insurer. Accordingly, CCS reported the debt to the CRAs.

After Carvalho noticed the debt on her credit report, 2 her attorney sent CCS a letter in September 2004 explaining that the debt arose from a bill her insurance company "wrongfully refused to pay" and requesting that CCS "immediately investigate and correct the information that is erroneously appearing on her credit report." CCS responded that Bayside "bills insurance as a courtesy only and the individual is responsible for non covered services," and that Carvalho's "insurance was billed and coverage denied." CCS concluded that it "reported this account correctly" and that any problem "should be resolved between Ms. Carvalho and her insurance company."

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629 F.3d 876 *; 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 25821 **

NOEMIA CARVALHO, on behalf of herself and other similarly situated people, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, LLC; EXPERIAN INFORMATION SOLUTIONS, INC.; TRANSUNION LLC, Defendants-Appellees.

Prior History:  [**1] Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. D.C. No. 5:08-cv-01317-JF. Jeremy D. Fogel, District Judge, Presiding.

Carvalho v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, 615 F.3d 1217, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17191 (9th Cir. Cal., 2010)

CORE TERMS

consumer, reinvestigation, credit report, removal, notice, district court, inaccurate, reporting, consumer credit reporting, disputed, letters, initial pleading, thirty-day, furnisher, trigger, cover sheet, deposition, inaccuracy, agencies, verified, ascertained, demurrer, amount in controversy, leave to amend, state court, thirty days, preempted, quotation, contends, courts

Civil Procedure, Appeals, Appellate Briefs, Reviewability of Lower Court Decisions, Preservation for Review, Special Proceedings, Class Actions, Class Action Fairness Act, Removal, Procedural Matters, Time Limitations, Pleadings, Complaints, Requirements for Complaint, Notice of Removal, General Overview, Governments, Legislation, Interpretation, Oral Arguments, Preliminary Considerations, Federal & State Interrelationships, Erie Doctrine, Prior State Court Orders, Responses, Defenses, Demurrers & Objections, Demurrers, Motions to Dismiss, Failure to State Claim, Appellate Jurisdiction, Final Judgment Rule, Interlocutory Orders, Banking Law, Consumer Protection, Fair Credit Reporting, Consumer Reports, Constitutional Law, Supremacy Clause, Federal Preemption, Pretrial Matters, Business & Corporate Compliance, Contracts Law, Contract Conditions & Provisions, Conditions Precedent, Amendment of Pleadings, Leave of Court