Hansen v. Morgan
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
582 F.2d 1214 (1978)
Facts
George Hansen (plaintiff) defeated an incumbent in a primary congressional election. After the primary, citizens lodged complaints against Hansen alleging that Hansen engaged in improper campaign finance practices. The complaints led to an investigation of Hansen by a congressional committee on which the incumbent was serving. Melvin Morgan (defendant) ran a business that was a member of the Pocatello Credit Bureau (bureau). As a bureau member, the business was entitled to receive credit reports from it. Morgan decided to obtain Hansen’s credit report, which Morgan then submitted to the incumbent’s office in Washington, DC. The report made it to the committee investigating Hansen for alleged campaign finance issues. Eventually, Hansen learned of the report and sued Morgan for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by willfully or negligently failing to comply with the act. Morgan eventually moved for summary judgment. Morgan argued that the report was not a consumer report under the FCRA and that the act therefore did not apply. The district court granted Morgan’s motion for summary judgment. Hansen appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Carter, J.)
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