Two Companies Settle Suits Alleging Violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act | Practical Law

Two Companies Settle Suits Alleging Violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act | Practical Law

Two companies settled separate private class action lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), for the largest and second largest settlements ever reached under the law in its 12-year history.

Two Companies Settle Suits Alleging Violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act

by Practical Law Finance
Published on 11 Nov 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
Two companies settled separate private class action lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), for the largest and second largest settlements ever reached under the law in its 12-year history.
Within the last two weeks, two companies settled separate private class action lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), for the largest and second largest settlements ever reached under the law in its 12-year history (for more information on data and privacy law under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, see Practice Note, US Privacy and Data Security Law: Overview: Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)). The cases include:
  • An $11 million preliminary settlement against Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings for including the expiration date of customers' credit cards on customer receipts (Legg v. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, No. 14-cv-61543). Each class member is estimated to receive up to $200.
  • A $7.5 million preliminary settlement against Spirit Airlines for including the first seven digits of customers' account numbers on credit and debit transaction receipts (Legg v. Spirit Airlines, Inc., 0:14-cv-61978). Each member of the settling class is expected to recover up to $265 as part of the settlement, and the settlement includes members of the plaintiff class from a separate case, Rosen v. Spirit Airlines, Inc., (, (N.D. Ill. June 17, 2015)).
In each case, the settlements provide more than the minimum statutory settlement for each individual, which is $100. Additionally, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants’ disclosure of consumer financial information was willful or reckless, given the following:
  • In Laboratory Corporation, the court noted that all but the last four digits of the consumers’ credit card numbers were redacted from the receipts, which indicated that the defendant had knowledge of redaction requirements under FACTA.
  • In Sprit, the court noted that a similar suit had been brought against the company in 2010, which put the company on notice of FACTA's requirements.
In addition to paying monetary damages, both defendants must bring their debit and credit card transaction receipts into compliance with the FACTA.