EAST ST. LOUIS — A consumer is suing Equifax Information Services LLC, TransUnion LLC and 1st National Bank of Omaha, alleging unfair and inaccurate reporting of financial information on debts that should have been discharged through bankruptcy.
Gregory Coates filed a complaint on Feb. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois alleging that the credit bureaus and bank, a furnisher of information to the bureaus, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff states that, on Nov. 12, 2015, he was discharged of his debts by the court through bankruptcy proceedings but the defendants continued to publish erroneous credit information stemming from the bank's claim of more than $11,000. Coates claims he has had to pay out-of-pocket and increased costs of credit and insurance expenses and that has suffered emotional distress. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because they allegedly failed to adequately investigate his dispute and failed to remove inaccurate information in his file.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks actual, statutory and punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs. He is represented by Travis W. Cohron of Barker, Hancock & Cohron in Noblesville.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:17-cv-00176