Supreme Court Grants Cert In Spokeo Case

The Supreme Court yesterday morning granted Spokeo, Inc.'s petition for a writ of certiorari in the closely watched case of Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, No. 13-1339. The case presents the question as to whether defendants can be held liable for automatic statutory penalties under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other federal statutes where the plaintiffs do not otherwise adequately allege they have suffered any actual injury from the defendant's conduct. In particular, Spokeo has asked the Court to review the following question:

"Whether Congress may confer Article III standing upon a plaintiff who suffers no concrete harm, and who therefore could not otherwise invoke the jurisdiction of a federal court, by authorizing a private right of action based on a bare violation of a federal statute."