The Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday in favor of consumer interests in Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz, a case argued by Public Citizen Litigation Group attorney Nandan Joshi. The case concerned the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which allows consumers to sue creditors for failing to correct inaccurate credit information that the consumer disputes. The federal government, the nation’s largest creditor, has long attempted to avoid accountability under the FCRA by claiming that it is immune from suit under that law.
Representing the consumer plaintiff and co-counseling with attorney Matthew Weisberg, we argued that the FCRA expressly waives the government’s immunity and allows consumers to sue any creditors — including federal agencies — for FCRA violations. In an opinion that tracks the arguments in our briefing, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed and held that federal agencies are not immune from liability for credit reporting failures.
