Opinion ID: 203243
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: DeAndrade purchased new windows for his home from a company called NESCOR in July of 2001. At DeAndrade's request, NESCOR agreed to arrange mortgage financing for the windows, although it did not specify the identity of the lender. DeAndrade and his wife signed documents in connection with this financing, which created a lien on their home. [2] NESCOR initially organized the financing through Conseco Finance (Conseco). When DeAndrade received notice of the first payment owed to Conseco, however, the bill was greater than the amount that he had indicated to NESCOR that he would be willing to pay. DeAndrade complained, and NESCOR promised to remedy the situation, sending DeAndrade a check for $11,722.30 with instructions to use the funds to pay the balance due Conseco. Shortly thereafter, DeAndrade received an invoice from KeyBank for approximately $121, an amount consistent with the original terms of his agreement with NESCOR. [3] DeAndrade made twenty-two monthly payments to KeyBank, from September 2001 until June 2003. The DeAndrades had never received copies of the loan documents, and at some point, apparently after speaking with a consumer attorney, DeAndrade's wife contacted KeyBank to obtain copies of the documents. The DeAndrades were shocked to discover that the documents granted a mortgage on their residence to KeyBank and that their signatures on the documents appeared to have been forged. As a result, the DeAndrades filed suit against KeyBank in Rhode Island Superior Court on August 20, 2003, requesting declaratory relief as to the validity of the KeyBank mortgage. [4] In that complaint, DeAndrade alleged that he and his wife never signed any documents granting a mortgage on their home to KeyBank and never authorized NESCOR to do so on their behalf. DeAndrade maintains that when he commenced the state lawsuit, he stopped sending the monthly payments to KeyBank and instead deposited them into an escrow account pending the resolution of that action. KeyBank notified the three major credit bureausTrans Union, Experian, and Equifaxof the alleged delinquent payments, and the bureaus updated DeAndrade's credit report accordingly. Through an attorney, DeAndrade then sent a letter dated July 16, 2004 to those three credit bureaus, advising them that the mortgage underlying the negative item reported by KeyBank had been fraudulently obtained and urging the bureaus to investigate the transaction. [5] Attached to the letter were forty-nine pages of documentation, including the Rhode Island Superior Court complaint, provided in support of DeAndrade's allegations of fraud. Experian deleted the KeyBank item after receiving DeAndrade's letter, but Trans Union and Equifax did not. On August 2, 2004, Trans Union sent a letter to DeAndrade indicating receipt of his request to investigate the disputed item. Trans Union then contacted KeyBank to verify the accuracy of the item. Trans Union did not forward the documents it had received from DeAndrade to KeyBank, but rather sent KeyBank an automated dispute verification form (ACDV). The ACDV stated that the customer [d]isputes present/prev Acct Status and believed the account to be not his/hers. KeyBank's response verified DeAndrade's name, address, social security number, month and year of birth, telephone number, and delinquent payment history. Trans Union then sent DeAndrade a notice, dated August 11, 2004, informing him that KeyBank had confirmed the item's accuracy and advising him of his further rights under the FCRA. Trans Union continued to publish the KeyBank debt on DeAndrade's credit report, but DeAndrade did not contact Trans Union again before initiating this lawsuit. On December 21, 2004, DeAndrade filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, claiming that Trans Union had violated a provision of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, by failing to conduct a lawful reinvestigation of the disputed debt and failing to delete the allegedly inaccurate item from DeAndrade's credit report. DeAndrade maintained that Trans Union's refusal to delete the disputed item harmed him by negatively impacting his ability to obtain needed credit, such as a home refinancing. Trans Union moved for summary judgment, arguing that the suit was an impermissible collateral attack on the validity of the KeyBank loan through the FCRA, that DeAndrade had in any case ratified the loan and therefore the information published on his credit report was accurate, and that DeAndrade had failed to adduce evidence of negligent or willful noncompliance with the FCRA. [6] Considering the ratification issue to be dispositive, the magistrate judge addressed that issue only and found that DeAndrade had ratified the KeyBank debt, rendering Trans Union's report of that debt accurate. Noting that inaccuracy is a necessary element of an FCRA claim, the magistrate judge recommended granting Trans Union's summary judgment motion. The district court accepted the magistrate judge's recommended decision and granted summary judgment to Trans Union. [7]