Opinion ID: 844281
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Import of Section 1681t(b)(1)(F)'s Express Exclusion from Preemption of Specific State Statutes

Text: Mortensen offers one textual argument in support of his construction of section 1681t(b)(1)(F). The provision selects out two specific state statutes for exclusion from preemption. (See § 1681t(b)(1)(F)(i), (ii) [saving Mass. Ann. Laws, ch. 93, § 54A(a) and Cal. Civ. Code, § 1785.25, subd. (a)].) It follows, Mortensen argues, that under the principle of expressio unius est exclusio alterius other state laws, including the Confidentiality Act (Civ. Code, § 56 et seq.), are not saved from preemption. The argument is flawed. That Congress saved two state statutes from preemption evinces an intent to save those particular statutes in light of an understanding that in the absence of an exemption the statutes would have been subject to a colorable claim of preemption. [14] As Mortensen correctly surmises, other state statutes involving the same subject matter as section 1681s-2, but not specially exempted, are preempted. But the argument begs the point. Congress obviously did not need to, and did not, specially exempt from preemption any of the thousands of state statutes further afield that do not touch on the same subject matter as section 1681s-2. It is that issue whether claims under the Confidentiality Act involve the same subject matter as section 1681s-2that is dispositive here. (11) For all the foregoing reasons, we conclude section 1681t(b)(1)(F) preempts state law claims only insofar as they arise out of a requirement or prohibition with respect to the specific furnisher duties regulated by section 1681s-2, i.e., the duties to provide accurate information and to take action upon being notified of a dispute. We turn to whether the claims in Brown's operative complaint do so.