Ninth Circuit reverses $140M verdict against CenturyLink

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a $140 million jury verdict against CenturyLink in a case involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The litigation, Bultemeyer v. CenturyLink, centered on whether CenturyLink violated the law by pulling a consumer's credit report after she began, but did not complete, an order for services.

In a per curiam opinion, the court applied the 'Safeco defense,' which protects companies from claims of willful FCRA violations if their interpretation of the law is based on statutory text and lacks contrary guidance from courts or agencies. While the judges disagreed on the specific definition of what constitutes an 'initiated' business transaction, they ultimately ruled that CenturyLink's actions did not constitute a willful violation because the term 'initiated' is not defined in the statute and no authoritative guidance existed to warn the company against its interpretation.