H.R. 5775
FCRA Liability Harmonization Act
Sponsor: Barry Loudermilk
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
FCRA Liability Harmonization Act
This bill limits the amount of damages and costs consumer credit reporting agencies must pay for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which regulates the use of consumer information for credit reporting purposes. Under FCRA, consumer credit reporting agencies may be found civilly liable to consumers for willful or negligent noncompliance.
The bill eliminates the ability of courts to award unlimited punitive damages to a consumer for a consumer credit reporting agency’s willful noncompliance with FCRA.
Regarding a consumer credit reporting agency’s willful or negligent noncompliance with FCRA, the bill limits the amount that may be awarded to consumers
- for court costs, and
- in class action lawsuits, specifically by prohibiting the court from applying a minimum amount of damages for each class member and by limiting the total recovery amount of the class.
Text of the bill
(a) Willful noncompliance. Section 616 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681n) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting and after the semicolon;
(B) by striking paragraph (2);
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2); and
(D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by subparagraph (C), by striking as determined by the court. and inserting
as determined by the court, in an amount that does not exceed the lesser of—
(A) $100,000; or
(B) the amount that is 40 percent of any damages awarded under paragraph (1)(A).
(2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection:
(d) Class action lawsuits. With respect to a class action brought by a class made up of consumers against a person who willfully fails to comply with a requirement imposed under this title, such person shall be liable to such consumers in such an amount as a court may determine, except that—
(1) the court may not apply a minimum amount of damages for each member of the class;
(2) the total recovery (excluding reasonable attorney’s fees as determined by the court) of the class may not exceed the lesser of—
(A) $500,000; or
(B) 1 percent of the net worth of such person; and
(3) the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney’s fees, as determined by the court, may not exceed the lesser—
(A) of $100,000;
(B) the amount that is 40 percent of any damages awarded by a court under this subsection; or
(C) the sum of the costs of the action and reasonable attorney’s fees, as determined by the court, not to exceed the lower of $100,000 or an amount equal to 40 percent of actual damages.
(b) Negligent noncompliance. Section 617 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681o) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking the period at the end and inserting
, not to exceed the lesser of—
(A) $100,000; or
(B) 40 percent of any actual damages determined by the court.
; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
(c) Class action lawsuits. With respect to a class action brought by consumers against a person who negligently fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this title, such person is liable to such consumers in an amount equal to the sum of any actual damages sustained by the consumers as a result of the failure, except that the total recovery (excluding reasonable attorney’s fees as determined by the court) of the class shall not exceed the lesser of—
(1) $500,000;
(2) 1 percent of the net worth of such person; or
(3) the sum of the costs of the action and reasonable attorney’s fees, as determined by the court, not to exceed the lower of $100,000 or an amount equal to 40 percent of actual damages.