Friday, November 19, 2010

The Bormes case: pay.gov and 1681c(g)(1) of FCRA

The CAFC does handle federal cases OTHER THAN patent cases.

The following is an excerpt from Bormes v. US, which references
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act [DMCA]:

Blueport does not control in this case. Because the
Big Tucker Act and Little Tucker Act follow the same
rules, this court may ask if Blueport would prevent the
Court of Federal Claims from exercising jurisdiction if
Bormes had initiated his case in that court. If Blueport
would block jurisdiction in the Court of Federal Claims
under the Big Tucker Act, then it would also prevent a
district court from exercising jurisdiction (and finding the
concomitant waiver of sovereign immunity) in the Little
Tucker Act. This court need not, however, reach that
conclusion.

Blueport does not apply because the jurisdictional
grant in FCRA is not “like the DMCA.” Id. Instead, the
former grants jurisdiction to “any appropriate United
States district court, without regard to the amount in
controversy, or in any other court of competent jurisdic-
tion.” 15 U.S.C. § 1681p (emphasis added).
The government asserts that “any other court of com-
petent jurisdiction” refers to state court jurisdiction
rather than other federal tribunals. The government
explains that the Supreme Court interpreted the phrase
“any other court of competent jurisdiction” as “provid[ing]
for concurrent federal-court and state-court jurisdiction
over civil liability suits.” Bank One Chicago N.A. v. Midwest
Bank & Trust Co., 516 U.S. 264, 268, 275 (1996).


AND

The parties have also briefed whether Bormes’ claim
should be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted. Specifically, the government
contends that the alleged wrongful action in this
case―providing credit card information that is displayed
on a consumer’s computer screen
―does not qualify as a
willful violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(g)(1), which requires
“print[ing] more than the last 5 digits of the card number
or the expiration date upon any receipt provided cardholder
at the point of the sale or transaction.”

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