Diana M. Eng and Michael R. Esposito ●

Financial institutions, credit furnishers, debt collectors, and other businesses reporting consumer information to credit reporting agencies should take note that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to impose a bright-line rule that only purely factual or transcription errors are actionable under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). Rather, courts must determine whether the disputed information is “objectively and readily verifiable.” Thus, furnishers should revisit their internal investigation and verification procedures to ensure compliance with the FCRA. 

In Holden v. Holiday Inn Club Vacations Inc., No. 22-11014, No. 22-11734, 2024 WL 1759143 (11th Cir. 2024), which was a consolidated appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (“Eleventh Circuit” or “Court”) held that the purchasers of a timeshare did not have actionable FCRA claims since the alleged inaccurate information reported to one of the consumer reporting agencies (“CRAs”) was not objectively and readily verifiable. In doing so, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed two decisions issued by United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (“District Court”) granting of summary judgment in favor of the timeshare company in the respective cases.

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