Ani Ghazaryan v. EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, LLC, A Georgia Limited Liability Company

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ANI GHAZARYAN,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES,
LLC, A Georgia Limited Liability
Company,
Defendant-Appellee.
No. 17-55132
D.C. No.
2:15-cv-09604-RGK-MRW
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
R. Gary Klausner, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted October 10, 2018
Pasadena, California
Before: SCHROEDER and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges, and WHELAN,** District
Judge.
Ani Ghazaryan appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment
on her claims against Equifax Information Services, LLC for violations of the Fair
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The Honorable Thomas J. Whelan, United States District Judge for
the Southern District of California, sitting by designation.
FILED
OCT 18 2018
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, and the Consumer Credit
Reporting Agencies Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.16. We have jurisdiction pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Reviewing de novo, see Shaw v. Experian Info. Sols., Inc.,
891 F.3d 749, 755 (9th Cir. 2018), we affirm.
In conducting a reinvestigation, a consumer credit reporting agency must
“review and consider all relevant information” that the consumer submits
regarding the disputed information, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(4); Cal. Civ. Code
§ 1785.16(b), notify the furnisher within five business days, 15 U.S.C.
§ 1681i(a)(2)(A); Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.16(a), and “promptly” correct or delete
from the consumer’s file any inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information,
15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(5)(A)(i); Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.16(b).
Viewing the factual record in the light most favorable to Ghazaryan,
Equifax’s investigation was reasonable as a matter of law. Equifax notified
Discover that Ghazaryan disputed being late on her credit card payment and stated
that Discover representative Jordan “confirmed . . . that she was never late.”
Equifax also passed along the phone number for Jordan that Ghazaryan had
provided. Equifax transmitted this information “in the manner established with”
Discover, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(2)(A), using ACDV, the “automated system”
envisioned by the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(5)(D).

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Equifax had no duty, as Ghazaryan contends, “to resolve the ultimate
contradiction between Discover’s response to the ACDV versus the confirmation
of inaccuracy made by [Jordan].” “[C]redit reporting agencies are not tribunals.
They simply collect and report information furnished by others.” Carvalho v.
Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, 629 F.3d 876, 891 (9th Cir. 2010). Equifax had
determined Discover to be a reliable source, and Ghazaryan gave Equifax no
reason to question that determination. Therefore, Equifax was entitled to rely on
Discover’s confirmation that Ghazaryan had missed a payment notwithstanding
that this information ultimately proved to be inaccurate.
AFFIRMED.

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