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TransUnion LLC v. Sergio L. Ramirez

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 17-17244 · judgment February 27, 2020

Decided · June 25, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 26% cert probability (95% interval 20%–32%)

Before the decision, about 6.2× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a Ninth Circuit decision below, and a circuit split argued in the petition.

Questions presented

This petition arises out of a Fair Credit Reporting Act class action in which the named plaintiff suffered atypical injuries and the vast bulk of the class suffered no Article III injury at all. The named plaintiff claimed that an inaccurate credit report hindered his effort to secure credit, caused him embarrassment in front of family, and led him to cancel a vacation. Yet he sought to represent a class of thousands of individuals, the vast majority of whom (>75%) never had a credit report disseminated to any third party, let alone suffered a denial of credit or other injury anything like the class "representative." The trial court nonetheless let the class proceed on the theory that the absent class members all suffered Article III injury and that the vast differences between the experiences of the named plaintiff and the class he purported to represent were immaterial. The results were predictable. Having heard only about the named plaintiffs entirely atypical injuries, the jury awarded the entire class statutory damages near the statutory maximum and then awarded classwide punitive damages that dwarfed the statutory damages. In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit then affirmed across the board, save for minimally trimming the punitive damages award. The questions presented are:

  1. Whether either Article III or Rule 23 permits a damages class action where the vast majority of the class suffered no actual injury, let alone an injury anything like what the class representative suffered.

  2. Whether a punitive damages award that is multiple times greater than an already-substantial classwide award of statutory damages, and is orders of magnitude larger than any actual proven injury, violates due process. Limited to question 1 presented by the petition.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Paul D. Clement
Clement & Murphy, PLLC

For respondent
Samuel Issacharoff

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage · 26 merits
(12 supporting pet./neither, 14 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued March 30, 2021 — Paul D. Clement · Nicole F. Reaves · Samuel Issacharoff. Audio and transcript

Decided June 25, 2021. Opinion by Kavanaugh.

Proceedings

  1. Jul 27 2021
    JUDGMENT ISSUED.
  2. Jun 25 2021
    Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Kavanaugh, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Alito, Gorsuch, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Kagan, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Breyer and Sotomayor, JJ., joined.
  3. Mar 30 2021
    Argued. For petitioner: Paul D. Clement, Washington, D. C. For United States, as amicus curiae: Nicole F. Reaves, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Samuel Issacharoff, New York, N. Y.
  4. Mar 19 2021
    Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
  5. Mar 19 2021
    Reply of petitioner TransUnion LLC filed. (Distributed)
  6. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Consumer Advocates filed. (Distributed)
  7. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of American Association for Justice filed. (Distributed)
  8. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Electronic Frontier Foundation filed. (Distributed)
  9. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amici curiae of Legal Scholars filed. (Distributed)
  10. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amici curiae of Complex Litigation Law Professors filed. (Distributed)
  11. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amici curiae of Impact Fund, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., and 24 Civil Rights Organizations filed. (Distributed)
  12. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. (Distributed)
  13. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
  14. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amici curiae of National Consumer Law Center, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  15. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amici curiae of Public Citizen and Public Citizen Foundation filed. (Distributed)
  16. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of The Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws filed. (Distributed)
  17. Mar 10 2021
    Brief amici curiae of UC Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  18. Mar 09 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Public Justice filed. (Distributed)
  19. Mar 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Electronic Privacy Information Center filed. (Distributed)
  20. Mar 05 2021
    Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
  21. Mar 03 2021
    Brief of Sergio L. Ramirez not accepted for filing. (March 05, 2021)(Dupilicate submission)
  22. Mar 03 2021
    Brief of respondent Sergio L. Ramirez filed. (Distributed)
  23. Feb 22 2021
    CIRCULATED.
  24. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Retail Litigation Center, Inc. filed.
  25. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Consumer Data Industry Association filed.
  26. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed.
  27. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amici curiae of eBay Inc., et al. filed.
  28. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amici curiae of The Home Depot, Inc. et al. filed.
  29. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amici curiae of National Association of Manufacturers, et al. filed.
  30. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Professional Background Screening Association filed.
  31. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amici curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed.
  32. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of National Consumer Reporting Association, Inc. filed.
  33. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of The Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc. filed.
  34. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of ACA International filed.
  35. Feb 08 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of the United States in support of neither party filed.
  36. Feb 04 2021
    Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit.
  37. Feb 04 2021
    Record from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit is electronic and located on Pacer.
  38. Feb 01 2021
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.
  39. Feb 01 2021
    Brief of petitioner TransUnion LLC filed.
  40. Feb 01 2021
    Joint appendix (Volumes I, II, & III) filed. (Statement of cost filed).
  41. Dec 23 2020
    Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Sergio L. Ramirez
  42. Dec 23 2020
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, TransUnion LLC
  43. Dec 16 2020
    Petition GRANTED limited to Question 1 presented by the petition.
  44. Nov 24 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/11/2020.
  45. Nov 24 2020
    Reply of petitioner TransUnion LLC filed. (Distributed)
  46. Nov 06 2020
    Brief of respondent Sergio L. Ramirez in opposition filed.
  47. Oct 08 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Consumer Data Industry Association filed.
  48. Oct 08 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed.
  49. Oct 02 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 6, 2020.
  50. Sep 30 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 8, 2020 to November 6, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
  51. Sep 02 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 8, 2020)