## Facts

- After giving birth in June 2003, Suzanne Sloane learned that a hospital employee used Sloane’s personal identifiers to open and use multiple credit accounts, generating over $30,000 in fraudulent activity.
- Sloane discovered the identity theft in January 2004 when a credit card was canceled for fraud; she reported the matter to police, and the thief was arrested.
- Sloane disputed the fraudulent tradelines with Equifax and sought correction of her credit file; Equifax reportedly placed a fraud alert but directed her to contact numerous creditors herself.
- Sloane spent significant time addressing the fraud, including taking time off work and submitting multiple notarized affidavits and supporting documents.
- Despite repeated disputes, Equifax continued to report inaccurate, fraud-related accounts and delinquencies for an extended period, leaving Sloane’s credit severely damaged.
- As a result, Sloane and her husband were denied financing for a vacation-home loan and she received materially worse terms when seeking an auto loan.
- Sloane testified to insomnia, anxiety, humiliation, and marital strain caused by the prolonged credit-reporting problems; her husband corroborated the observable distress.
- A jury found Equifax violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and awarded $351,000 in actual damages: $106,000 for economic loss and $245,000 for emotional distress; the district court entered judgment and awarded $181,083 in attorney’s fees without allowing a written opposition.

## Issues

1. Whether the jury’s FCRA actual-damages awards for economic loss and emotional distress were excessive in light of the evidence.
2. Whether the district court erred by awarding attorney’s fees without providing Equifax an opportunity to submit a written opposition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(2)(C).

## Decision

- The Fourth Circuit affirmed the $106,000 economic-damages award as supported by the evidence of credit denials and adverse loan terms tied to inaccurate reporting.
- The court held that emotional-distress damages were permissible and supported by detailed testimony, but found the $245,000 award excessive and reduced it to $150,000.
- The court vacated the $181,083 attorney’s-fee award and remanded because Equifax was not given a reasonable opportunity to oppose the fee request in writing.
- Disposition: affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded in part.

## Legal Principles

- Under the FCRA, a consumer reporting agency may be liable for “actual damages” caused by failures to comply with statutory duties regarding accuracy and dispute investigation.
- FCRA “actual damages” can include both economic loss and emotional distress (mental anguish, humiliation), and emotional distress may be proven through specific plaintiff testimony corroborated by other witnesses without medical evidence.
- Appellate courts may remit emotional-distress awards that are disproportionate to the evidence and out of line with comparable cases.
- Fee-shifting may be available in FCRA actions, but a fee award must follow Rule 54(d)(2) procedures, including allowing the opposing party a reasonable chance to respond.

## Conclusion

The Fourth Circuit upheld substantial FCRA liability and economic damages for prolonged inaccurate credit reporting after identity theft, reduced the emotional-distress award as excessive while confirming such damages may be proven by detailed corroborated testimony, and vacated the attorney’s-fee award because the defendant was denied a proper opportunity to oppose the fee motion.


Sloane v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, 510 F.3d 495 (4th Cir. 2007)