Fair Credit Reporting: 10.5.4 Negligence Claims
The development and application of negligence law to consumer reporting activities was advancing when the FCRA was enacted. A few courts had expressly held CRAs liable for negligence,239 and another implied the possibility of a claim for negligent misstatements injuring a consumer.240 Moreover, the proof required to establish malice to overcome a CRA’s conditional privilege defense was beginning to approach traditional negligence standards.