Recent Case: Syed v. M-I, LLC

In a case of first impression for the federal appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Syed v. M-I, LLC that when a liability waiver is included in the document that contains the disclosure and authorization information, the FCRA is violated based on Section 1681b(b)(2)(A)’s mandate that the document consist “solely” of the disclosure and authorization. More importantly, the court held that including such a liability waiver was a willful violation of the statute, potentially resulting in increased penalties.