The FCRA Newsletter
The Strasburger FCRA Newsletter is designed to keep you current on FCRA-related legal issues and events. For more frequent updates, see our blog at the FCRA BLOG.
PREPARED BY

Marc F. Kirkland
Marc F. Kirkland

STRASBURGER & PRICE, LLP
2801 Network Blvd.
Suite 600
Frisco, TX 75034
469.287.3946 Direct
 marc.kirkland@
strasburger.com
Fourth Circuit Finds FACTA Class Should Have Been Certified

Stillmock v. Weis Mkts., Inc., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 13508 (4th Cir. Md.  July 1, 2010)

Facts:  Appellants, a class of consumers, claimed that Weis Markets violated § 1681c(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by failing to properly truncate the credit card numbers and expiration dates on receipts.  The Appellants filed a motion for class action certification with the district court.  The class was to include Appellants and all other customers of retail stores owned and operated by Weis Markets, who received credit and debit card receipts printed in violation of the FCRA’s truncation requirements.  The class expressly excluded customers who had suffered actual damages due to identity theft or had ever been executives of Weis Markets.  The district court denied certification on two grounds: 1) that determining the quantum of damages with respect to each class member would be too individualized for class-wide treatment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23(b)(3); and 2) that a class action as requested by plaintiffs would not be superior to other methods of adjudicating the claims alleged in the lawsuit.  The Fourth Circuit found that the grounds upon which the district court relied to deny class action certification were untenable and, therefore, had abused its discretion.

  • Class Certification.  Rule 23(b)(3) requires that questions of law or fact common to members of the class predominate over questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other methods of adjudicating the class claims.  The district court erroneously denied certification claiming that the purported class did not meet either of the two requirements. 
The entire FCRA Newsletter can be found here.
1Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Treasury; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Office of Thrift Supervision, U.S. Treasury; National Credit Union Administration; and Federal Trade Commission. 
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