Janczuk v. Federal Trade Commission
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-03703
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
Janczuk v. Federal Trade Commission: Judge Swain dismissed the credit-reporting lawsuit as frivolous after screening it.
Weronika E. K. Janczuk’s lawsuit was dismissed; the Federal Trade Commission, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax were named defendants. The order also warned Janczuk about possible future limits on fee-free filings.
What happened
In Janczuk v. Federal Trade Commission, Weronika E. K. Janczuk sued the Federal Trade Commission and three credit-reporting companies over credit scores and credit reporting. She sought changes including eliminating credit-score tracking and creating new ways to analyze and dispute credit information.
The court reviewed the case because Janczuk was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees in advance. It concluded that her allegations and requested remedies were irrational and had no apparent legal basis, so it dismissed the action as frivolous. The court also found that amending the complaint would not fix its defects.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain warned that continued frivolous filings could lead to limits on future fee-free filings, denied fee-free status for an appeal, and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Janczuk v. Federal Trade Commission · No. 1:24-cv-03703
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 6, 2024
Background
Weronika E. K. Janczuk, proceeding without a lawyer, sued the Federal Trade Commission, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. She invoked federal-question and diversity jurisdiction. The court had previously allowed her to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without paying court fees in advance.
Janczuk alleged that credit scores are produced by automated algorithms and do not account for aspects of her economic and personal life, including economic participation, psychiatric hospital admissions, imprisonment, headaches, and cognitive problems. She also alleged that Experian had not adequately addressed her dispute. She said credit scores could cause banks to automatically reject requests for credit and sought broad changes, including eliminating credit-score tracking, creating alternative methods for analyzing credit information, improving dispute procedures, and requiring encrypted algorithms.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that it must dismiss a fee-free complaint that is frivolous, fails to state a claim, seeks money from an immune defendant, or presents claims over which the court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction. It also said that pleadings filed without a lawyer are read liberally, but they still must provide a short and plain statement showing an entitlement to relief.
The court held that Janczuk’s allegations that credit-reporting agencies failed to capture the “complexity” or “nature” of her life, together with her requests to eliminate credit-score tracking and create new forms of analysis, were irrational. It found no apparent legal theory supporting those requests and determined that the action was frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i).
The court declined to give Janczuk permission to amend because it concluded that the complaint’s defects could not be corrected through amendment.
Disposition and Warning
The court dismissed Janczuk’s complaint as frivolous. It warned that continued filing of actions determined to be frivolous or without merit could lead to an order requiring her to explain why she should not be barred from filing new civil actions without paying fees in advance in that court unless she first obtained permission. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. It directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.