In a welcomed opportunity for clarity in the standing context as it applies to class actions, the Supreme Court granted cert in Ramirez v. TransUnion LLC. The case involved a product offered by TransUnion to identify consumers with names designated by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Assets Control (OFAC) as posing a national threat. It was argued that TransUnion failed to follow reasonable procedures to assure the maximum possible accuracy of warning labels applied to the reports of consumers whose names matched those on the OFAC list. In addition, class members argued the company failed to comply with certain disclosure requirements under the FCRA. TransUnion appealed to a $60 million verdict and, on appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that “every member of a class certified under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 must satisfy the basic requirements of Article III standing.” It also ruled that a “material risk of harm” was sufficient to confer standing to each class member.
