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Statutory Interpretation

By: Derek Hawkins//May 20, 2019//

Statutory Interpretation

By: Derek Hawkins//May 20, 2019//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Rafaela Aldaco v. RentGrow, Inc.

Case No.: 18-1932

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and EASTERBROOK and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Statutory Interpretation

In 1996 Rafaela Aldaco pleaded guilty to battery and received a sentence of six months’ supervision, a diversionary disposition under Illinois law. See 730 ILCS 5/5-1-21, 5/5-6-3.1. The state court entered a finding of guilt and deferred proceedings while Aldaco served her sentence. After Aldaco complied with the conditions of her supervision, the court dismissed the charge. Although Aldaco could have had the battery record expunged, she did not ask the court to do so charge.

Aldaco then filed suit, contending that Yardi—as a consumer reporting agency—violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when it disclosed her criminal history to the landlord. The Act prohibits reporting agencies from disclosing any arrest record or other adverse item more than seven years old but permits them to report “records of convictions of crimes” no matter how long ago they occurred. See 15 U.S.C. §1681c(a). The Act does not define the word “conviction.” Aldaco’s primary argument is that a sentence of supervision in Illinois is not a conviction under the Act. In the district court she asserted two propositions: (1) that “conviction” in the Act means “conviction as defined by state law,” and (2) that she has not been convicted as Illinois law understands that word. The district judge held that Yardi was entitled to summary judgment, concluding that “conviction” has a federal definition, under which Aldaco’s battery record qualifies. Aldaco now appeals to us, again asserting that Illinois law supplies §1681c(a)’s definition of conviction.

Aldaco has another problem: her protest to Yardi contended only that the battery record wasn’t hers. She did not dispute the reported length of the sentence or the omission of the charge’s dismissal. After receiving the complaint, Yardi had a duty to reinvestigate only whether “disputed information” was inaccurate. 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a)(1)(A). Yardi did investigate and confirm with its sources the only information that was disputed: whether the battery record pertained to Aldaco.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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