Opinion
No. 01-930-D
June 18, 2002
RULING ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This matter is before the court on a motion for summary judgment and a request for attorney fees (doc. 13) filed by the defendant, City Financial Corporation ("CFC"). The plaintiff, Mary Battley, has filed an opposition.
Mary Battley filed suit against City Financial Corporation alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(f), for accessing her credit report without a permissible purpose. The plaintiff now concedes that CFC, as the parent corporation of her creditor The Dollar Bill, Inc. ("Dollar Bill"), was statutorily permitted to obtain her credit report in an effort to collect a debt owed by Battley. She agrees that defendant's motion for summary judgment should be granted insofar as it dismisses her claims against CFC for pulling her credit report. This court agrees that summary judgment is appropriate regarding the plaintiffs credit reporting claims.
Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681 (n), a defendant in a lawsuit premised on alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act may recover reasonable attorney fees when an unsuccessful pleading is filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment. CFC requests such an award in the case sub judice where Battley's claims against it are without merit and thus unsuccessful. The defendant contends, as evidenced by the affidavit of CFC's Chief Financial Officer, that the plaintiff previously made numerous loans with CFC which originated in the same office as the most recent loan from Dollar Bill. CFC further avers that both CFC and Dollar Bill use the same office located at 5235 Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This knowledge by the plaintiff forms the basis of the defendant's contention that Battley brought her suit in bad faith and therefore CFC is entitled to attorney fees.
The plaintiff argues that attorney fees are not warranted because she did not file the present lawsuit in "bad faith" or for the "purpose of harassment". In support of her argument, Battley offers her affidavit in which she concurs that she had several loans with CFC in the past. Furthermore, Battley confirms that both CFC and Dollar Bill are located in the same building. However, she swears that they maintain separate suites. The plaintiff also avers that she was unaware of the corporate structure and relationship between CFC and Dollar Bill at the time she filed suit. To bolster her argument, the plaintiff provides a letter written by her attorney, Garth J. Ridge, to CFC inquiring as to why it requested her credit report. Battley was curious because she had no outstanding loan with CFC that she knew of at the time the report was pulled. According to attorney Ridge's affidavit, he never received a response to his inquiry and Battley then went forward with her lawsuit.
The evidence offered by the defendant is insufficient to support CFC's allegations of bad faith on the part of the plaintiff. To the contrary, the letter proffered by Battley supports her claim that she acted in good faith, believing that CFC impermissibly requested her credit report. For this reason, an award of attorney fees is inappropriate.
Accordingly, the motion by defendant, CFC, for summary judgment (doc. 13) is hereby GRANTED while the defendant's request for attorney fees is DENIED.