The plaintiffs in the case claimed that Michaels failed to provide sufficient disclosures that the store intended to procure background checks on job applicants, as required by the FCRA.
However, a U.S. District Judge found that the plaintiffs – who were all hired by Michaels – lacked standing as they could not demonstrate they suffered concrete harm.
In Spokeo, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that in order to have standing to bring such a case, plaintiffs must have suffered a concrete and particularized injury – a requirement that is not automatically satisfied by allegations of a mere statutory violation.
"Plaintiffs allege a violation of what I have called the purely formal requirements of FCRA," the New Jersey federal judge ruled. “They do not factually allege any harm aside from the statutory violation itself."
Source: Law360.com, 1/25/2017
Posted: January 27, 2017