Gorman v. Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP

ORDER

The opinion filed January 12, 2009, is hereby amended. The amended opinion is attached hereto.

With these amendments, the panel unanimously has voted to deny Appellant’s petition for rehearing en banc and Appel-lee’s petition for panel rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc.

The full court has been advised of the petitions for rehearing en banc, and no judge has requested a vote on whether to rehear the matter en banc. Fed. R.App. P. 35.

The petition for panel rehearing is DENIED and the petitions for rehearing en banc are DENIED. No further petitions for rehearing or rehearing en banc may be filed.

*1151 OPINION

John Gorman tried to buy a satellite television system using his credit card, issued by MBNA America Bank. He was unsatisfied with the system purchased, and lodged a challenge with MBNA to dispute the charge. Unhappy with MBNA’s response, Gorman instituted this lawsuit against MBNA, alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1681x, libel, and violations of California Civil Code section 1785.25(a). The district court dismissed his California statutory claim and granted MBNA summary judgment on the other causes of action. Gorman v. Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP (“Gorman I ”), 370 F.Supp.2d 1005 (N.D.Cal.2005); Gorman v. Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP (“Gorman II”), 435 F.Supp.2d 1004 (N.D.Cal.2006). We affirm in part and reverse in part.

I. BACKGROUND

In December 2002, John Gorman paid for the delivery and installation of a new satellite TV system on a Visa credit card issued by MBNA America Bank (“MBNA”). The charge, $759.70, was posted on his January 2003 credit card statement. According to Gorman, the merchant, Four Peaks Home Entertainment (“Four Peaks”), delivered a used and defective TV system and botched the installation, damaging his house in the process. Gorman told Four Peaks he was refusing delivery of the goods and asked for a refund, but Four Peaks refused to refund the charges unless Gorman arranged to return the TV system. The defective equipment is still in Gorman’s possession. 1

In February 2003, Gorman notified MBNA that he was disputing the charges and submitted copies of emails between himself and Four Peaks. The attached emails showed that Gorman had informed a Four Peaks representative that the delivered goods were “unacceptable and [were] rejected.” He also noted damage from the installation and notified Four Peaks that he “plan[ned] to dispute the credit card charges in their entirety, as the damage exceeds the amount of the charges.”

MBNA responded to the dispute notice with a request for additional information from Gorman about the dispute, including proof that the merchandise had been returned. A month passed, and MBNA wrote Gorman again, stating that as he had not responded, it assumed the charge was no longer disputed. Gorman answered that he continued to dispute the charge, and referred MBNA to his original notice of dispute. He did not claim to have returned the equipment, but stated that the merchandise “has been available for the merchant to pick up.” MBNA again requested proof that the goods had been returned; Gorman did not reply.

In April 2003, MBNA informed Gorman that it was “unable to assist [him] because the merchandise has not been returned to *1152 the merchant.” Gorman called an MBNA representative saying, again, that all relevant information was in his original letter. MBNA then contacted Four Peaks, which told MBNA that it had shipped replacement equipment to Gorman but that he had not sent the old equipment back to them.

In July 2003, MBNA again informed Gorman that it could not obtain a credit on his behalf without further information from him. Gorman, who is a lawyer, responded in writing on his law firm’s letterhead, stating that MBNA had all the information it needed, that he had left several unanswered messages with MBNA asking to speak with someone about the dispute, and that he would “never” pay the disputed charge. He further stated that MBNA had violated the Fair Credit Billing Act, that he was “entitled to recover attorneys’ fees for MBNA’s violation,” and that he was offsetting his legal fees against his current account balance and so would make no more payments on the card, for the TV system or anything else. 2 The balance at that time was more than $6,000. 3

Gorman’s letter to MBNA worked, at least temporarily. In August 2003, MBNA removed the Four Peaks charge and related finance charges and late fees from Gor-man’s credit card bill. Over the next two months, MBNA again contacted Four Peaks, which once more informed MBNA that it would not issue a credit for Gor-man’s charge until he returned the refused equipment. When MBNA called Gorman, he informed them he had the merchandise and “ha[d] no intention of ever [returning] it.” In October, MBNA reposted the charge to Gorman’s account.

After he stopped making payments on his card, Gorman claims, he received numerous harassing phone calls. During one of these calls, Gorman alleges, an MBNA representative told him, “We’re a big bank. You either pay us or we’ll destroy your credit.”

In January 2004, MBNA reported Gor-man’s account to the credit reporting agencies (“CRAs”) as “charged-off.” 4 Between May 2004 and November 2005, Gorman informed the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion, and Expe-rian) that their credit reports included inaccurate information.

As required by federal law, the CRAs sent MBNA notices of dispute containing descriptions of Gorman’s complaints (as understood by the CRAs) and asking the bank to verify the accuracy of his account records. MBNA responded by reviewing the account records and notes. After ascertaining that its prior investigation did not support Gorman’s claimed dispute, MBNA notified the CRAs that the delinquency was not an error. According to Gorman, MBNA did not notify the CRAs that the charges remained in dispute, and the CRAs did not list the charges as disputed. 5

*1153 Since his credit reports began listing his MBNA account as delinquent, Gorman has been denied credit altogether or offered only high interest rates on at least three occasions. He contends that the MBNA account is the only negative entry on his credit report.

In September 2004, Gorman sued MBNA. The complaint alleges violations of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1681x and a California credit reporting law, California Civil Code section 1785.25(a), and also alleges a claim for libel. Gorman seeks injunctive relief, damages resulting from MBNA’s reporting of his account, and damages from lost wages for the time he spent dealing with his credit that he would have otherwise spent billing clients. The district court dismissed Gorman’s California statutory claim as preempted and granted MBNA summary judgment on all other claims. Gorman timely appeals.

For the reasons stated below, we affirm in part and reverse in part the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the FCRA claims; we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment on Gorman’s libel claim; and we reverse the district court’s dismissal of Gorman’s California statutory claim.

II. ANALYSIS

This case comes to us on summary judgment. We review a grant of summary judgement de novo. Bodett v. CoxCom, Inc., 366 F.3d 736, 742 (9th Cir.2004). Summary judgement is appropriate where, “drawing all reasonable inferences supported by the evidence in favor of the non-moving party,” the court finds “that no genuine disputes of material fact exist and that the district court correctly applied the law.” Id. (internal quotation omitted). The non-moving party “must make a showing sufficient to establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding the existence of the essential elements of his case that he must prove at trial.” Galen v. County of Los Angeles, 477 F.3d 652, 658 (9th Cir.2007) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 321-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)).

Questions of statutory interpretation and federal preemption are, of course, reviewed de novo. J & G Sales Ltd. v. Truscott, 473 F.3d 1043, 1047 (9th Cir.2007); Davis v. Yageo Corp., 481 F.3d 661, 673 (9th Cir.2007).

A. Fair Credit Reporting Act Claims

1. Statutory Background

Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1681x, 6 in 1970 “to ensure fair and accurate credit reporting, promote efficiency in the banking system, and protect consumer privacy.” Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Burr, 551 U.S. 47, 127 S.Ct. 2201, 2205, 167 L.Ed.2d 1045 (2007). As an important means to this end, the Act sought to make “consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities [in assembling and evaluating consumers’ credit, and disseminating information about consumers’ credit] with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumer’s right to privacy.” 15 U.S.C. § 1681(a)(4). In addition, to ensure that credit reports are accurate, the FCRA imposes some duties on the sources that provide credit information to CRAs, called “furnishers” in the statute. 7 *1154 Section 1681s-2 sets forth “[responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies,” delineating two categories of responsibilities. 8 Subsection (a) details the duty “to provide accurate information,” and includes the following duty:

(3) Duty to provide notice of dispute

If the completeness or accuracy of any information furnished by any person to any consumer reporting agency is disputed to such person by a consumer, the person may not furnish the information to any consumer reporting agency without notice that such information is disputed by the consumer.

§ 1681s-2(a)(3).

Section 1681s-2(b) imposes a second category of duties on furnishers of information. These obligations are triggered “upon notice of dispute” — that is, when a person who furnished information to a CRA receives notice from the CRA that the consumer disputes the information. See § 1681i(a)(2) (requiring CRAs promptly to provide such notification containing all relevant information about the consumer’s dispute). Subsection 1681s-2(b) provides that, after receiving a notice of dispute, the furnisher shall:

(A) conduct an investigation with respect to the disputed information;

(B) review all relevant information provided by the [CRA] pursuant to section 1681i(a)(2) ...;

(C) report the results of the investigation to the [CRA];

(D) if the investigation finds that the information is incomplete or inaccurate, report those results to all other [CRAs] to which the person furnished the information ...; and

(E) if an item of information disputed by a consumer is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified after any reinvestigation under paragraph (1) ... (i) modify ... (ii) delete[or] (iii) permanently block the reporting of that item of information [to the CRAs].

§ 1681s-2(b)(l). These duties arise only after the furnisher receives notice of dispute from a CRA; notice of a dispute received directly from the consumer does not trigger furnishers’ duties under subsection (b). See id.; Nelson v. Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp., 282 F.3d 1057, 1059-60 (9th Cir.2002).

The FCRA expressly creates a private right of action for willful or negligent noncompliance with its requirements. §§ 1681n & o; see also Nelson, 282 F.3d at 1059. However, § 1681s-2 limits this private right of action to claims arising under subsection (b), the duties triggered upon notice of a dispute from a CRA. § 1681s-2(c) (“Except[for circumstances not relevant here], sections 1681n and 1681o of this title do not apply to any violation of ... subsection (a) of this section, including any regulations issued thereunder.”). Duties imposed on furnishers under subsection (a) are enforceable only by federal or state agencies. 9 See § 1681s-2(d).

*1155 Gorman alleges that MBNA violated several of the FCRA “furnisher” obligations. We hold that some of the alleged violations survive summary judgment and some do not.

2. MBNA’s “investigation” upon notice of dispute

Gorman’s first allegation is that MBNA did not conduct a sufficient investigation after receiving notice from the CRAs that he disputed the charges, as required by § 1681s-2(b)(l)(A). As Gorman’s claim arises under subsection (b), it can be the basis for a private lawsuit. See Nelson, 282 F.3d at 1059-60. We must decide (1) whether § 1681s-2(b)(l)(A) requires a fur-nisher to conduct a “reasonable” investigation, and if so, (2) whether a disputed issue of material fact exists as to the reasonableness of MBNA’s investigation.

a. Must an Investigation be Reasonable?

The text of the FCRA states only that the creditor shall conduct “an investigation with respect to the disputed information.” § 1681s-2(b)(l)(A). MBNA urges that because there is no “reasonableness” requirement expressly enunciated in the text, the FCRA does not require an investigation of any particular quality; any investigation into a consumer’s dispute — even an entirely unreasonable one— satisfies the statute.

This court has not addressed MBNA’s contention about the FCRA’s investigation requirement. 10 But, MBNA made — -and lost — the same argument before the Fourth Circuit. Johnson v. MBNA Am. Bank, NA, 357 F.3d 426, 429-31 (4th Cir. 2004). Concluding that the statute includes a requirement that a furnisher’s investigation not be unreasonable, the Fourth Circuit first noted that the plain meaning of the term “investigation” is a “ ‘detailed inquiry or systematic examination,’ ” which necessarily “requires some degree of careful inquiry.” Id. at 430 (quoting Am. Heritage Dictionary 920 (4th ed.2000)). Second, the Fourth Circuit reasoned that because the purpose of the provision is “to give consumers a means to dispute — and, ultimately, correct — inaccurate information on their credit reports,” id. at 430-31, a “superficial, un reasonable inquir[y]” would hardly satisfy Congress’ objective. Id. at 431. The Seventh Circuit, without discussing the issue, has also found an implicit reasonableness requirement. See Westra v. Credit Control of Pinellas, 409 F.3d 825, 827 (7th Cir.2005) (“Whether a defendant’s investigation [pursuant to § 1681s-2(b)(l)(A)] is reasonable is a factual question normally reserved for trial.”); see also Johnson, 357 F.3d at 430 n. 2 (“[District courts that have considered the issue have consistently recognized that the creditor’s investigation must be a reasonable one.” (citing cases)).

The Fourth Circuit’s reasoning in Johnson is entirely persuasive. By its ordinary meaning, an “investigation” requires an inquiry likely to turn up information about the underlying facts and positions of the parties, not a cursory or sloppy review of the dispute. Moreover, like the Fourth Circuit, we have observed that “a primary purpose for the FCRA [is] to protect consumers against inaccurate and incomplete *1156 credit reporting.” Nelson, 282 F.3d at 1060. A provision that required only a cursory investigation would not provide such protection; instead, it would allow furnishers to escape their obligations by merely rubber stamping their earlier submissions, even where circumstances demanded a more thorough inquiry. MBNA counters by pointing to § 1681i(a)(l)(A), which provides, in relevant part (with emphasis added):

[I]f the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer’s file at a consumer reporting agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency directly, or indirectly through a reseller, of such dispute, the agency shall, free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate....

Thus, MBNA argues, Congress specified a “reasonable” investigation in another part of the statute, and purposely chose not to do so for furnishers of information.

It is most often the case that “[wjhere Congress includes particular language in one section of a statute but omits it in another section of the same Act, it is generally presumed that Congress acts intentionally and purposely in the disparate inclusion or exclusion.” Russello v. United States, 464 U.S. 16, 23, 104 S.Ct. 296, 78 L.Ed.2d 17 (1983) (internal quotation and citation omitted). But we should be careful not to read too much into the apparent disparity in language upon which MBNA relies. Where, as here, there are convincing alternative explanations for a difference in statutory language, the presumption applies with much less force. See Field v. Mans, 516 U.S. 59, 67-69, 116 S.Ct. 437, 133 L.Ed.2d 351 (1995) (“Without more, the [negative] inference might be a helpful one. But [where] there is more ... the negative pregnant argument should not be elevated to the level of interpretive trump card.”).

As we have noted, the term “investigation” on its own force implies a fairly searching inquiry. It is thus likely that, if anything, the “reasonable” qualifier with regard to re investigations by CRAs signals a limitation on the CRAs’ duty, not an expansion of it beyond what “investigation” itself would signal. And, indeed, the statute goes on to spell out the CRA’s investigative duty in some detail, requiring, inter alia, that the CRA provide notification of the dispute within five business days of receipt of notice of a dispute. The furnisher’s investigation obligation under § 1681 is triggered by receiving the CRA notification, required as a central aspect of the CRA’s own investigation, and includes the obligation to “report the results of [its] investigation to the [CRA].” § 1681s2-(b)(1)(C). In other words, the CRA’s “reasonable reinvestigation” consists largely of triggering the investigation by the furnish-er. It would make little sense to deem the CRA’s investigation “reasonable” if it consisted primarily of requesting a superficial, unreasonable investigation by the furnish-er of the information.

Nevertheless, MBNA urges that “Congress intended to impose a more rigorous duty of investigation on CRAs than on furnishers of information.” But MBNA does not tell us why Congress would mandate shoddy or superficial furnisher investigations, not calculated to resolve or to explain the actual disagreement or to aid in the CRA’s “reasonable reinvestigation.” Indeed, as the statute recognizes, the fur-nisher of credit information stands in a far better position to make a thorough investigation of a disputed debt than the CRA does on reinvestigation. With respect to the accuracy of disputed information, the CRA is a third party, lacking any direct relationship with the consumer, and its *1157 responsibility is to “re investigate” a matter once already investigated in the first place. § 1681i(a)(l) (emphasis added). It would therefore make little sense to impose a more rigorous requirement on the CRAs than the furnishers. Instead, the more sensible conclusion is that, if anything, the “reasonable” qualifier attached to a CRA’s duty to reinvestigate limits its obligations on account of its third-party status and the fact that it is repeating a task already completed once. Requiring furnishers, on inquiry by a CRA, to conduct at least a reasonable, non-cursory investigation comports with the aim of the statute to “protect consumers from the transmission of inaccurate information about them.” Kates v. Crocker Nat’l Bank, 776 F.2d 1396, 1397 (9th Cir.1985).

We thus follow the Fourth and Seventh Circuits and hold that the furnisher’s investigation pursuant to § 1681s-2(b)(l)(A) may not be unreasonable.

b. MBNA’s Investigation was Reasonable

As discussed, a furnisher’s obligation to conduct a reasonable investigation under § 1681s-2(b)(l)(A) arises .when it receives a notice of dispute from a CRA. Such notice must include “all relevant information regarding the dispute that the [CRA] has received from the consumer.” § 1681i(a)(2)(A). It is from this notice that the furnisher learns the nature of the consumer’s challenge to the reported debt, and it is the receipt of this notice that gives rise to the furnisher’s obligation to conduct a reasonable investigation. The pertinent question is thus whether the fur-nisher’s procedures were reasonable in light of what it learned about the nature of the dispute from the description in the CRA’s notice of dispute. 11 See Westra, 409 F.3d at 827 (“[The furnisher’s] investigation in this case was reasonable given the scant information it received regarding the nature of [the consumer’s] dispute.”).

MBNA received four notices of dispute regarding Gorman’s account. Gorman argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment as to the reasonableness of MBNA’s investigation in response to these notices because triable issues of fact remain. We have held that “summary judgment is generally an inappropriate way to decide questions of reasonableness because ‘the jury’s unique competence in applying the ‘reasonable man’ standard is thought ordinarily to preclude summary judgment.’ ” In re Software Toolworks Inc., 50 F.3d 615, 621 (9th Cir.1994) (quoting TSC Indus. v. Northway, Inc., 426 U.S. 438, 450 n. 12, 96 S.Ct. 2126, 48 L.Ed.2d 757 (1976)). However, summary judgment is not precluded altogether on questions of reasonableness. It is appropriate “when only one conclusion about the conduct’s reasonableness is possible.” Id. at 622; see also Westra, 409 F.3d at 827. We thus consider the sufficiency of MBNA’s investigation with respect to each of the notices.

i. “Claims Company will Change”

In a notice of dispute received May 13, 2004, TransUnion provided the following information concerning Gorman’s MBNA account: “Claims company will change. Verify all account information.” The notice provided no further information about the nature of the dispute. In response to this notice, MBNA “review[ed] the account notes to determine whether MBNA had agreed to delete any charges or to modify the account information in any way.” It concluded that “[n]o such commitment had been made.” MBNA’s review of the account information provided *1158 by TransUnion did reveal “some minor differences.” As a result, MBNA submitted updated address, date of birth, and account delinquency information to Tran-sUnion.

The cursory notation, “[e]laims company will change,” provided no suggestion of the nature of Gorman’s dispute with Four Peaks. We conclude therefore that a jury could not find MBNA’s response unreasonable. MBNA reasonably read the vague notice as indicating that MBNA had previously agreed to change certain account information. MBNA’s review of its internal account files to determine whether any such agreement had been reached was all that was required to respond reasonably to this notice of dispute. The account notes reveal that MBNA had communicated with Four Peaks several times and do not reveal any agreement by MBNA to credit those charges, or any others. MBNA could not have reasonably been expected to undertake a more thorough investigation of the Four Peaks incident based on the scant information contained in this notice.

ii. “Fraudulent Charges”

MBNA received two notices disputing “fraudulent charges” on Gorman’s account. A notice of dispute from Experian, dated May 18, 2004, stated: “Consumer claims account takeover fraudulent charges made on account. Verify Signature provide complete ID.” In response to this notice, MBNA “verif[ied] that the name, address, date of birth and social security number reported by Experian matched the information that was contained in MBNA’s records concerning the account.” It also “re-viewfed] the account notes and check[ed] with the fraud department to determine whether there had ever been a fraud claim submitted with respect to the account.” Because the identification information matched and no fraud claim had been submitted, MBNA reported to Experian that the information it previously reported was accurate and requested that Experian tell Gorman to contact MBNA if he suspected fraud.

MBNA received another dispute notice from TransUnion, dated November 29, 2005, that listed two disputes: (1) “Disputes present/previous Account Status History. Verify accordingly;” (2) “Consumer claims account take-over fraudulent charges made on account. Verify Signature provide or confirm complete ID.” MBNA conducted the following inquiry:

[V]erif[ied] that the account history that was being reported matched the account history data in MBNA’s records, including the balance, the amount past due, the high credit and credit limit for the account.... [V]erif[ied] that the name, address, date of birth and social security number reported by TransUnion matched the information that was contained in MBNA’s records concerning the account.... [R]eview[ed] the account notes and checkfed] with the fraud department to determine whether there had ever been a fraud claim submitted with respect to the account.

Because this investigation did not reveal that any information was inaccurate, MBNA verified the information previously submitted to TransUnion.

Neither notice identified the nature of Gorman’s dispute as centering on the Four Peaks charge or indicated that the dispute concerned rejection of the goods charged for. Indeed, the notices did not describe the fraudulent transactions in any detail; they were silent as to the approximate date of the charges, their amount, and the identity of the merchant. Moreover, Gor-man has never contended that the disputed charges were initially unauthorized or were the result of identity theft, as the dispute notices indicated. Not surprisingly, MBNA’s review of its internal account *1159 notes showed no evidence of fraudulent activity, and all previous account data reported by the CRAs matched MBNA’s records. We conclude that, as in the case of the first notice of dispute, MBNA could not reasonably have been expected to investigate Gorman’s challenge to the Four Peaks charge based on the vague and inaccurate information it received from the 'CRAs in these notices. 12

iii. “Promised Goods/Services Not Delivered”

One notice of dispute did provide more accurate and specific information relating to Gorman’s dispute with MBNA. A December 2004 notice from Experian stated: “Claims inaccurate information. Did not provide specific dispute. Provide complete ID and verify account information.” The notice further provided, in a section for “FCRA Relevant Information”: “PROMISED GOODS/SERVICES NOT DELIVERED. I TIMELY DISPUTED THE CHARGES UNDER THE TIL ACT.” 13 In response to this notice, MBNA

review[ed] its records to confirm that all of the account information that was being reported by Experian matched MBNA’s records. MBNA also reviewed the account notes to determine if any dispute submitted by Gorman concerning the account had been resolved in his favor. Since the reported information matched the information in MBNA’s records, and because the prior investigation of the charge with Four Peaks Entertainment had not been resolved in favor of Gorman, MBNA verified all the information that it had reported about the account as accurate.

Unlike the other three notices of dispute, the December 2004 notice contained enough information to alert MBNA to the specific nature of Gorman’s actual claim: the reported debt was not owed because he had not received the goods he was promised. Simply verifying that the basic reported account data matched MBNA’s internal records may not have been a reasonably sufficient investigation of this particular dispute.

But MBNA’s investigation was more thorough than simply a review of bare account data. The review of internal records revealed that MBNA had previously *1160 investigated the Four Peaks charge and that the dispute had not been resolved in Gorman’s favor.

Nevertheless, Gorman claims that a jury could still find MBNA’s efforts unreasonable, because it failed to re investigate the dispute. As an initial matter, there is no evidence that MBNA’s original investigation of the Four Peaks incident was deficient or unreliable. 14 MBNA contacted both Gorman and Four Peaks several times as part of the investigation. Its requests that Gorman provide more information were met with refusals to supply additional information or no response at all. MBNA’s correspondence with Four Peaks also evidences a diligent attempt to ascertain the validity of the charges. For example, MBNA asked about Gorman’s opportunity to return the merchandise and was told that Gorman received shipping labels to return the merchandise.

Importantly, the CRA notice of dispute that triggered MBNA’s duty to investigate did not identify any reason to doubt the veracity of the initial investigation. Furthermore, the notice of dispute did not provide any new information that would have prompted MBNA to supplement the initial investigation with any additional procedures or inquiries.

We agree that “[wjhether a reinvestigation conducted by a furnisher in response to a consumer’s notice of dispute is reasonable ... depends in large part on ... the allegations provided to the furnish-er by the credit reporting agency.” Krajewski v. Am. Honda Fin. Corp., 557 F.Supp.2d 596, 610 (E.D.Pa.2008). Without any indication in the allegations that the initial investigation lacked reliability or that new information was available to discover, MBNA’s decision not to repeat a previously-conducted investigation cannot have been unreasonable. Congress could not have intended to place a burden on furnishers continually to reinvestigate a particular transaction, without any new information or other reason to doubt the result of the earlier investigation, every time the consumer disputes again the' transaction with a CRA because the investigation was not resolved in his favor. Thus, although reliance on a prior investigation can be unreasonable, cf. Bruce v. First U.S.A. Bank, Nat’l Ass’n, 103 F.Supp.2d 1135, 1143-44 (E.D.Mo.2000) (concluding that a furnisher’s investigation was not necessarily reasonable when an initial investigation was deficient for, among other reasons, failing to contact the consumer), that was not the case here.

Gorman disputes this conclusion, insisting that under the Fourth Circuit’s opinion in Johnson, it is per se unreasonable for a furnisher to rely solely on internal account records when investigating a consumer dispute. Gorman misreads Johnson, which recognized that the reasonableness of an investigation depends on the facts of the particular case, most importantly the CRA’s description of the dispute in its notice. See Johnson, 357 F.3d at 431 (noting that confining the investigation to internal computer notes was not necessarily reasonable in light of the specificity of the description of the dispute in the notice).

In Johnson, the CRA’s notice to MBNA read: “CONSUMER STATES BELONGS TO HUSBAND ONLY;” “WAS NEVER A SIGNER ON ACCOUNT. WAS AN AUTHORIZED USER.” Id. at 429. The un *1161 derlying facts were that Johnson’s future husband opened an MBNA credit card account. Some years later, after they were married, Johnson’s husband filed for bankruptcy, and MBNA told Johnson she was responsible for the balance, maintaining that she was a co-applicant, and therefore a co-obligor, on the account. Johnson, 357 F.3d at 428-29. Johnson argued that she was merely an authorized user. Id.

In response to the notice to the CRAs, MBNA only confirmed Johnson’s identifying information and confirmed that its internal computer system indicated she was the sole responsible party on the account. Id. at 431. At no time did MBNA try to ascertain whether Johnson’s information— that she had not signed the application form—was correct. The Fourth Circuit held this investigation unreasonable:

The MBNA agents also testified that, in investigating consumer disputes generally, they do not look beyond the information contained in the CIS [MBNA’s internal computer system] and never consult underlying documents such as account applications. Based on this evidence, a jury could reasonably conclude that MBNA acted unreasonably in failing to verify the accuracy of the information contained in the CIS.

Id.

In contrast to Johnson, in Gorman’s case MBNA did review all the pertinent records in its possession, which revealed that an initial investigation had taken place in which MBNA contacted both Gor-man and the merchant. Thus, unlike in Johnson, MBNA had—albeit earlier— gone outside its own records to investigate the allegations contained in the CRA notice, and on reading the notice, did consult the relevant information in its possession. Johnson does not indicate that a furnisher has an obligation to repeat an earlier investigation, the record of which is in the furnisher’s records.

We emphasize that the requirement that furnishers investigate consumer disputes is procedural. An investigation is not necessarily unreasonable because it results in a substantive conclusion unfavorable to the consumer, even if that conclusion turns out to be inaccurate.

In short, although “reasonableness” is generally a question for a finder of fact, summary judgment in this case was appropriate.

3. MBNA’s failure to provide notice of dispute

Gorman next argues that MBNA failed to notify the CRAs that he continued to dispute the delinquent charges on his account. He contends that in reporting the delinquency without also reporting his ongoing dispute, MBNA violated its obligations under 12 C.F.R. § 226.13, 15 and thus furnished “incomplete or inaccurate” credit information in violation of the FCRA. MBNA neither concedes nor disputes that it was so obligated, 16 but argues on summary judgment that the statute *1162 does not permit Gorman to raise this claim. Also, in the alternative, MBNA contends that Gorman did not submit enough evidence to show whether his credit reports included a notice that the delinquency was disputed or whether MBNA did not so notify the CRAs. We must decide (1) whether the failure to notify the CRAs that the delinquent debt was disputed is actionable under § 1681s-2(b), and if so, (2) whether Gorman introduced sufficient evidence on summary judgment to show that MBNA so notified the CRAs.

a. Gorman’s Claim is Actionable

If a consumer disputes the accuracy of credit information, the FCRA requires furnishers to report that fact when reporting the disputed information. Section 1681s-2(a)(3) provides: “If the completeness or accuracy of any information furnished by any person to any consumer reporting agency is disputed to such person by a consumer, the person may not furnish the information to any consumer reporting agency without notice that such information is disputed by the consumer.” As noted, however, the statute expressly provides that a claim for violation of this requirement can be pursued only by federal or state officials, and not by a private party. § 1681s—2(c)(1) (“Except [for circumstances not relevant here], sections 1681n and 1681o of this title[providing private right of action for willful and negligent violations] do not apply to any violation of ... subsection (a) of this section, including any regulations issued thereunder.”); see also Nelson, 282 F.3d at 1059. Thus, Gorman has no private right of action under § 1681s-2(a)(3) to proceed against MBNA for its initial failure to notify the CRAs that he disputed the Four Peaks charges.

Gorman does have a private right of action, however, to challenge MBNA’s subsequent failure to so notify the CRAs after receiving notice of Gorman’s dispute under § 1681s-2(b). In addition to requiring that a furnisher conduct a reasonable investigation of a consumer dispute, § 1681s-2(b) also requires a creditor, upon receiving notice of such dispute, to both report the results of the investigation and, “if the investigation finds that the information is incomplete or inaccurate, report those results” to the CRAs. § 1681s-2(b)(1)(C), (D). Gorman argues that MBNA’s reporting of the Four Peaks charge and delinquency, without a notation that the debt was disputed, was an “incomplete or inaccurate” entry on his credit file that MBNA failed to correct after its investigation. As this claim alleges that obligations imposed under § 1681s-2(b) were violated, it is available to private individuals.

The Fourth Circuit has recently held that after receiving notice of dispute, a furnisher’s decision to continue reporting a disputed debt without any notation of the dispute presents a cognizable claim under § 1681s-2(b). See Saunders v. Branch Banking & Trust Co. of Va., 526 F.3d 142, 150 (4th Cir.2008). In Saunders, a consumer alleged that he incurred late fees and penalties as a result of a creditor’s own admitted accounting errors; the creditor, Branch Banking & Trust (BB & T), refused to waive the fees, and the consumer responded by withholding payments on the loan. Id. at 145-46. BB & T reported the loan to the CRAs as “in repossession status,” and, after suffering adverse credit decisions, the consumer contacted the CRAs to report the dispute.