NORMAN V TRANS UNION LLC

The Court has allowed, or “certified,” a class action lawsuit that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you may exercise before the Court holds a trial on damages. The trial is to decide whether Trans Union has willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the amount of statutory damages between $100-$1,000 per Class Member, plus punitive damages, if any, to be assessed. The lawsuit is known as Norman v. Trans Union, LLC, Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-05225-GAM (E.D. Pa.).

Plaintiff Duane Norman, Sr. has alleged that after he submitted a dispute to Trans Union that his credit report was obtained without authorization or a proper purpose, Trans Union did not contact the company that requested the credit report, nor did it remove the notation (called a “hard inquiry”) that he disputed.  Instead, Trans Union mailed to Mr. Norman and the other Class Members, including you, a “502 Letter” that stated:

“The inquiries listed on your credit report are a record of the companies that obtained your credit information.  The identity of each company by trade name and contact information is provided.  All inquiries remain on your credit report for two years.  Credit information may be requested only for the following permissible purposes: credit transactions, employment consideration, review or collection of an existing account or other legitimate business need, insurance underwriting, government licensing, rental dwelling, or pursuant to a court order.  Your written authorization may not be required to constitute permissible purpose. If you believe that an inquiry on your credit report was made without a permissible purpose, then you may wish to contact the creditor directly, by phone or in writing, regarding its purpose.”

Plaintiff’s legal claim is that Trans Union violated a federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act by failing to conduct a reasonable investigation of his dispute of an item of information in his credit file or, alternatively, by not removing the disputed item from his file. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant did the same thing with respect to the Class.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called the “Class Representative,” in this case Duane E. Norman, Sr., sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All of the people together are called a “Class” or “Class Members”. The consumer reporting agency he sued, Trans Union, is called the Defendant. One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class, except for those people who choose to exclude themselves from the Class.  The Court decided that this lawsuit can proceed as a class action and move towards a trial.

More information about why the Court is allowing this lawsuit to proceed as a class action is found in the Court’s Opinion and Order certifying the Class, which is available under the Important Documents section of this website..

In the lawsuit, Plaintiff claims that Trans Union violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as described above. You can download/read the Plaintiff’s full Complaint under the Important Documents sections of this website.

Trans Union denied that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and asserted that this case should not proceed as a class action. Trans Union’s Answer to the Complaint is also posted on the same website.

The Court has not yet decided whether Trans Union has violated the law, or how much money, if any, should be awarded to the Class.  The court has simply decided that this case may proceed as a class action.

The Plaintiff will ask the Court to award statutory damages of between $100 and $1,000 to each member of the Class. Plaintiff will also ask the Court to order Trans Union to pay punitive damages and Class Counsel fees and expenses.

No money or benefits are available now because the Court has not yet decided who is right, or how much, if anything, Trans Union should pay the Class in damages. There is no guarantee that money or benefits will ever be obtained. If they are, you will be notified unless you exclude yourself from this case.

You don’t have to do anything now if you want to keep the possibility of getting money or benefits from this lawsuit. By doing nothing, you stay in the Class. If you do nothing now, regardless of whether the Plaintiff wins or loses the trial, you will not be able to sue, or continue to sue, Trans Union, about the same legal claims that are the subject of this lawsuit. You will also be legally bound by all of the orders and judgments the Court issues in this case.

If you already have a lawsuit against Trans Union for similar claims and want to continue with it, you need to ask to be excluded from the Class. If you exclude yourself from the Class – sometimes called “opting-out” of the Class – you will not get any money or benefits from this lawsuit even if the Plaintiff wins damages at trial or there is a settlement. However, you may be able to sue or continue to sue Trans Union on your own. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by the Court’s Order and Judgment in this class action.

If you start your own lawsuit against Defendant after you exclude yourself, you’ll have to seek damages in court, and you may have to hire and pay for your own lawyer for that lawsuit. If you do exclude yourself so you can start your own lawsuit against Defendant, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your claims may be subject to a statute of limitations or other time-sensitive requirements.

To ask to be excluded, you must send an “Opt-Out Request” in the form of a letter sent by U.S. Mail, facsimile, or e-mail stating that you want to be excluded from Norman v. Trans Union. Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, email address if you have one, and to sign the opt-out letter. You must mail your Opt-Out Request postmarked or time-stamped by June 18, 2021 to Norman v. Trans Union Opt-Outs, PO Box 23698, Jacksonville, FL 32241-3698, or fax the letter to (877) 430-1941, or e-mail your request to [email protected].

The Court has certified the law firms of Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C. and Flitter Milz, P.C. as Class Counsel. Their contact information is as follows:

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want your own lawyer, you may retain one at your expense. You can ask him or her to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you, at the Court’s discretion.

If Class Counsel obtain money or benefits for the Class through this suit, they will ask the Court to award counsel fees and expenses. You won’t have to pay these fees and expenses. If the Court grants Class Counsel’s request, the fees and expenses would either be deducted from any money obtained for the Class or paid separately by Defendant. Class Counsel has not been paid any fees, nor reimbursed their expenses for prosecuting this case since it was filed in 2018.

Trial has not yet been scheduled. Note that trial dates are sometimes rescheduled, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. You may obtain more information about the trial date under the Key Dates section of this website.

You do not need to attend the trial. Class Counsel will present the case for the Plaintiff and the Class, and Defendant will present its defenses. You or your own lawyer are welcome to attend at your own expense.

If at some point the Plaintiff obtains money or benefits for the Class as a result of the trial or a settlement, and you did not exclude yourself from the Class, you will be notified.  There could be post-trial proceedings and appeals. We do not know how long this will take, and there is no guarantee.

Under the Important Documents section of this website, you will find the Court’s Order and Opinion certifying the Class, Plaintiff’s Class Action Complaint, the Defendant’s Answer to the Complaint, as well as information about how to exclude yourself as a Class Member. You may also speak to one of the attorneys working on this class action by calling: 1-(800)-566-0596 or e-mailing at the following address: [email protected].

You must notify the Class Administrator of any changes in your mailing address or phone number so that any future correspondence will be sent to the correct address.

To update your mailing address by visiting the Update Your Address section on this website. You will need your NoticeID and PIN from the notice your received to update your address.

If you have any issues or if you are unable to locate your PIN, please contact the Class Administrator via email at [email protected].

If you are changing your name due to marriage, divorce or court order, a copy of your marriage license, divorce decree or court order is required. You can submit the documentation via email at: [email protected]. In your email, put ‘Name Change’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, provide the name, NoticeID and address of the original class member on the Notice you received. Also provide the new name and address that you would like on future correspondence as well as a telephone number.

If you are changing your name due to death, documentation is needed to change the name of the payee if the Class Member has died.  Two documents are required for a name change due to a deceased payee. They are: 1) A Copy of the death certificate, and 2) Documentation providing evidence to show the new person as legal heir/beneficiary. This could be a will, estate documentation, probate, etc. The documentation will be reviewed when received and we may reach out to you with additional questions, if necessary.  You can submit these documents via email at: [email protected]. In your email, put ‘Name Change’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, provide the name, NoticeID and address of the original class member on the Notice you received. Also provide the new name and address and telephone number that you would like on future correspondence.