AFSA Submits Amicus Brief Supporting Consumers in Credit Reporting
The American Financial Services Association submitted an amicus brief on April 27 to the U.S. District Court of Maine. The case was brought by the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) against Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey and Superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection William Lund. The case challenges two bills, the Medical Bill Act and the Economic Abuse Act passed by the Maine legislature in 2019.
The Medical Bill Act “expressly precludes a consumer reporting agency from ‘report[ing] debt from medical expenses on a consumer’s consumer report’ if the delinquency is less than 180 days old when the debt is reported.” The Economic Abuse Act “impermissibly precludes consumer reporting agencies from disclosing certain adverse information in consumer reports, a subject matter covered and expressly preempted by the [Fair Credit Reporting Act] FCRA.”
AFSA argues that the Maine statutes are not only preempted by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), but that they are fundamentally at odds with the goals of the federal legislation intended to protect consumers. “A patchwork of state regulations would drive most lenders to be state-specific, reducing competition and innovation, and harming consumers,” the brief states.
April 29th, 2020
