$29 Million in Settlements Approved in Experian Credit Reporting Lawsuits
Stueve Siegel Hanson achieved final approval of two settlements totaling $29 million resolving consumer class action claims against Experian, one of the “big three” credit reporting agencies, arising out of Experian’s reporting of delinquent loan accounts. The cases were led by Stueve Siegel Hanson partners Norman Siegel and Austin Moore, who were appointed as class counsel in the litigation.
In July 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted final approval to a $24 million all-cash settlement on behalf of more than 56,000 consumers in the action Demeta Reyes v. Experian. The case involved a class of loan borrowers who had delinquent loan accounts remain on their credit reports after the debt collector, Delbert Services, went out of business. The settlement is one of the largest in history relating to inaccurate reporting violations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It was achieved after four years of litigation that included a successful appeal reversing a judgment in Experian’s favor and an order granting class certification.
In November 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted final approval in the action Wanda Smith v. Experian, approving a $5 million all-cash settlement on behalf of more than 14,000 consumers whose credit reports contained delinquent loan accounts reported by debt collector CashCall. In approving the settlement, the presiding judge concluded that Stueve Siegel Hanson is “highly-experienced in consumer class actions” and “negotiated a well-informed settlement on behalf of the settlement class.”
All class members will receive automatic cash payments under the settlements with no claims process or reversion of any funds to Experian.
Stueve Siegel Hanson has recovered billions of dollars for consumers across a variety of practice areas. For more information about our inaccurate credit report practice, please click here.
