DC Federal Court Dismisses FACTA Class Action On Standing Grounds

On August 3, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a putative class action brought under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and Article III standing, relying on the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins. As is commonplace in FACTA litigation, the class complaint alleged that the defendant had printed the plaintiff's entire 16-digit credit card number and expiration date on receipts.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that plaintiff Doris Jeffries lacked standing to bring her FACTA suit since the few facts alleged in her case failed to show she suffered an injury in fact that is fairly traceable to the defendants' challenged conduct and that could likely be redressed by a favorable judicial decision. The court also rejected Jeffries' argument that she was at an increased risk of identity theft when the defendants handed her the receipt with her information