Judge Lorna Schofield has agreed to stay a Fair Credit Reporting Act case until the U.S. Supreme Court issues its highly anticipated ruling in Robbins v. Spokeo, Inc. By entering a stay in Ernst v. Dish Network, LLC, S.D. N.Y. Case No. 12-Civ-8794 (LGS), the Southern District of New York joins several other courts that have agreed to put FCRA cases on hold. Judge Schofield found that the Spokeo ruling would “likely clarify whether or not the named Plaintiffs and potential class members in [Dish Network] have Article III standing.” The key issue in Spokeo is whether a mere violation of FCRA, without any alleged concrete harm, is sufficient to confer standing. Judge Schofield found that the interests of the Court and the public are better served by staying Dish Network and that the potential prejudice in doing so would be minimal.
The Southern District of New York joins U.S. District Courts from the District of New Jersey, the Northern and Eastern Districts of California, the Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, and the Northern District of Ohio in deciding to take a “wait and see” approach in FCRA cases until the Supreme Court rules in Spokeo. One notable exception is the Western District of Missouri, which denied a request for stay in Woods v. Caremark PHC, LLC, W.D. Mo. Case No. 4:15-cv-00535-SRB. However, the Caremark court did base its decision on a case involving a Telephone Consumer Protection Act claim.
The Southern District of Florida has not addressed this specific issue yet, but if Judge Marcia Cooke’s ruling in Boise v. ACE USA, Inc., S.D. Fla. Case No. 15-Civ-21264-Cooke/Torres, is any indication, it would appear that this Court would also be receptive to staying a FCRA case until a ruling is issued in Spokeo. Judge Cooke, after considering the anticipated brevity of the delay, the lack of prejudice to the plaintiff, and the potentially wasted time, expense and resources, stayed Boise, which involved claims under TCPA, based upon the fact that Spokeo may be dispositive of whether the plaintiff in that case has Article III standing.
The willingness of so many courts to stay FCRA (and even some TCPA) cases is just another indication of the broad impact that the Spokeo ruling is likely to have.
David Greene is a commercial litigation partner in Fox Rothschild’s West Palm Beach office. His practice focuses primarily on banking litigation, real estate litigation, title insurance litigation, and construction litigation. You can reach David at 561-804-4441 or dgreene@foxrothschild.com.