Sathue v. Equifax Information Services LLC

Background

The action was removed from New York State Court on March 5, 2020. The caption names Justin Sathue as plaintiff and Equifax Information Services LLC, Citigroup Incorporated, First Data Corp., and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, LLC as defendants. Citigroup represented that the state-court filing incorrectly identified the entity as “Citigroup Incorporated” and that “Citigroup N.A.” was the proper defendant.

Equifax, First Data, and Citigroup each filed a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which permits dismissal when a complaint does not state a legally sufficient claim. Sathue filed a notice of appearance without a lawyer on April 2, 2020. The court had advised him that he could file an amended complaint or oppose the motions by April 10, 2020. He did neither and did not request an extension.

Legal standard

Because Sathue was proceeding without a lawyer, the court stated that it had to read his complaint generously and identify the strongest arguments it reasonably suggested. Even so, the complaint had to allege enough facts to make liability plausible. The court could not add factual allegations that Sathue had not pleaded.

The opinion begins recounting Sathue’s allegations but the provided text is incomplete. It states that the allegations concerned defendants’ negligence, willful failure to resolve identity theft, and willful failure to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Ruling

Judge Denise Cote ordered that the unopposed March motions to dismiss were granted. The order dismissed all claims against First Data, Equifax, and Citigroup. It does not specify whether those dismissals were with or without prejudice.

The order further directed counsel for Equifax to promptly serve Sathue with a copy of the order and file proof of service. The court noted that LexisNexis Risk Solutions, LLC had not yet responded in the action; the provided opinion does not state a disposition as to LexisNexis.