Court Opinion

ID: 9790479
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 01:53:36.049525+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:29.825182
License: Public Domain

Chief Justice VOLLACK
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
The majority affirms the court of appeals and holds that the trial court erroneously entered summary judgment against the plaintiff, Valerie Shaw (Shaw). The majority also reverses the court of appeals and holds that section 5-5-108, 2 C.R.S. (1992), is preempted by 15 U.S.C. § 1681h(e) (1994) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). I agree with the majority’s conclusion that the trial court erred in granting the motion for summary judgment filed by Greenwood Trust Company, doing business as Discover Card Finance Services (Discover). However, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that section 5-5-108 is preempted by § 1681h(e) because I believe that the cause of action set forth in section 5-5-108 is separate and distinct from a common law defamation claim. I would therefore affirm the decision of the court of appeals in its entirety. Accordingly, I dissent in part and concur in part.
I.
This case concerns a disputed credit card debt. Discover claims that Shaw owes $1,219 on her Discover card, but Shaw maintains that she never applied for, possessed, or made any charges with the Discover card. As a result of the alleged unpaid debt, Discover notified several credit report agencies that the debt was past due and that the account had a poor credit rating. Shaw filed suit, asserting that Diseover’s actions violated section 5-5-108. Discover responded and subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment in which it claimed qualified immunity pursuant to § 1681h(e). The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment without explanation. The court of appeals reversed, holding that § 1681h(e) did not grant Discover any level of immunity from Shaw’s section 5-5-108 claim and that Shaw’s 5-5-108 claim was improperly dismissed. See Conley v. Greenwood Trust Co., 923 P.2d 307, 309 (Colo.App.1996).
II.
Under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, federal law may preempt state legislation governing the same subject matter. See U.S. Const, art. VI, cl. 2; Louisiana Pub. Serv. Comm’n v. F.C.C., 476 U.S. 355, 368, 106 S.Ct. 1890, 1898, 90 L.Ed.2d 369 (1986); Amoco Oil Co. v. Ervin, 908 P.2d 493, 503 (Colo.1995). Preemption occurs if Congress expressly states its intent to preclude state regulation of a subject. See Louisiana Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 476 U.S. at 368, 106 S.Ct. at 1898; Banner Advertising, *1152Inc. v. City of Boulder, 868 P.2d 1077, 1080 (1994). In the absence of express congressional intent, state law is preempted if it actually conflicts with federal law or if federal law thoroughly occupies a legislative field. See Cipollone v. Liggett Growp, Inc., 505 U.S. 504, 516, 112 S.Ct. 2608, 2617, 120 L.Ed.2d 407 (1992); Amoco Oil, 908 P.2d at 503. A court must presume that the historic police powers of the States are not to be superseded by a federal statute absent a clear and manifest purpose of Congress. See Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 518, 112 S.Ct. at 2618; Banner, 868 P.2d at 1080-81.
As the official comment to section 5-5-108 suggests, section 5-5-108 seeks to measure and ensure that businesses use acceptable conduct when they deal with consumers. § 5-5-108, 2 C.R.S. (1992), official cmt. Section 5-5-108 provides in pertinent part:
(2) With respect to a consumer credit transaction, if the court as a matter of law finds that a person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is likely to engage in unconscionable conduct in collecting a debt arising from that transaction, the court may grant an injunction and award the debtor any actual damages he has sustained.
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(4) In applying subsection (2) of this section, consideration shall be given to each of the following factors, among others, as applicable:
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(d) Causing or threatening to cause injury to the debtor’s reputation or economic status by:
(I) Disclosing information affecting the debtor’s reputation for credit worthiness with knowledge or reason to know that the information is false;
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(IV) Disclosing information concerning the existence of a debt known to be disputed by the debtor without disclosing that faet[J
(Emphasis added.)
In contrast to the state statute, the FCRA is more specifically aimed at regulating the use of information obtained and disseminated by consumer reporting agencies. See 15 U.S.C. § 1681 (1994). Section 1681h(e) of the FCRA provides in pertinent part that
no consumer may bring any action or proceeding in the nature of defamation, invasion of privacy, or negligence with respect to the reporting of information against any ... person who furnishes information to a consumer reporting agency ... except as to false information furnished with malice or willful intent to injure such consumer.
Any preemption analysis concerning section 1681h(e) of the FCRA is constrained by 15 U.S.C. § 1681t (1994), which provides that the FCRA
does not annul, alter, affect, or exempt any person subject to the provisions of this subchapter from complying with the laws of any State with respect to the collection, distribution, or use of any information on consumers, except to the extent that those laws are inconsistent with any provision of this subchapter, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency.
The majority concludes that Shaw’s cause of action is based upon section 5-5-108(4)(d)(IV), which, the majority claims, essentially proscribes a claim of defamation by false credit reporting. Maj. op. at 1148. The majority then holds that Shaw’s cause of action is “in the nature of defamation” and is therefore preempted by § 1681h(e) of the FCRA. Maj. op. at 1149. In my view, Shaw’s cause of action concerns the enforcement of a statutory right separate and apart from an action alleging defamation. Given the expressly limited congressional intent to preempt in this area and the fundamental differences that exist between the action set forth in section 5-5-108 and the tort of defamation, I would hold that Shaw’s statutory cause of action is not preempted.
The central issue in determining whether a creditor has violated section 5-5-108(2) is whether the creditor has acted unconscionably towards the debtor during a consumer credit transaction. See § 5-5-108(2). The factors contained in section 5-5-108(4) do not prohibit any conduct on the part of the creditor and do not codify the elements of defamation. Instead, the factors set forth in section *?5-5-108(4) illustrate the types of conduct that may be deemed unconscionable by a court of law. The unconscionability determination, which typically addresses an area of contract law, is distinct and separate from an action alleging defamation, which requires a different focus and the consideration of additional elements.1 For this reason, I believe that the court of appeals correctly explained that
an action under § 5-5-108 is not an action “in the nature of defamation [or] invasion of privacy”; it is an action to enforce a statutory right. And, its enforcement is not dependent upon proof of any common law tort. Rather, it requires a consideration of numerous factors to determine whether a creditor’s actions have been unconscionable.
Conley, 923 P.2d at 309 (alteration in original).
Clearly, there are stark differences between the cause of action set forth in section 5-5-108 and a defamation claim which demarcates two separate causes of action. Because the two causes of action are separate and distinct from one another, there is no inconsistency pursuant to § 1681t. Therefore, preemption of Shaw’s section 5-5-108 claim is unwarranted in the present case.
III.
Shaw abandoned her common law defamation claim prior to presenting her case to the court of appeals. Therefore, her cause of action is based solely upon section 5-5-108. In my view, a cause of action brought pursuant to section 5-5-108 is fundamentally different from a tort claim alleging defamation. When the distinguishing features are viewed in combination with § 1681t of the FCRA, which provides congressional intent to leave state regulatory statutes in this field intact, it becomes clear that Shaw’s cause of action should be allowed to proceed. For this reason, I would affirm the court of appeals and hold that section 5-5-108 is not preempted by § 1681h(e) of the FCRA. Accordingly, I concur with that part of the majority’s opinion which holds that the trial court improperly entered summary judgment against Shaw and dissent to that part of the majority’s opinion which holds that section 5-5-108 is preempted by § 1681h(e) of the FCRA.
I am authorized to say that Justice SCOTT joins in this concurrence and dissent.

. In Colorado, a plaintiff must prove the following elements in asserting a cause of action for defamation: (1) a defamatory statement concerning another; (2) published to a third party; (3) with fault amounting to at least negligence on the part of the publisher; and (4) either actiona-bility of the statement irrespective of special damages or the existence of special damages to the plaintiff caused by the publication. See Williams v. District Court, 866 P.2d 908, 911 n. 4 (Colo.1993).