Summary Judgment In Favor Of Bank Reversed In Identity Theft Case.

Fraudulent accounts were opened in plaintiff’s name, so he advised credit reporting agencies which, in turn, notified various banks of the situation. Chase Bank USA did perform an investigation but continued to report a fraudulently opened account as lost or stolen and the thief’s address as plaintiff’s address.  The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants.  The Ninth Circuit reversed, finding there were issues of material fact whether the bank violated its duties to protect consumers under 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a)(2).  Drew v. Equifax Information Services, LLC (Ninth Circuit; August 7, 2012) (Case No. 11-15008).