Krieger v. Bank of America, N.A.

William Krieger (plaintiff) had a credit card issued by Bank of America, N.A. (the bank) (defendant). In June 2015, Krieger’s computer was compromised, and an unauthorized money transfer of $657 was purchased on his credit card. Krieger immediately called the bank, alerting it of the unauthorized charge. On July 29, Krieger received a credit card statement that included the $657 charge, and he called the bank to contest the unauthorized charge. The bank eventually agreed to investigate the charge. A few days later, the bank called Krieger, told him that the issue was resolved, and credited his account with $657. In September, the bank notified Krieger that it had determined that the charge was valid and rebilled his account for the charge. Krieger wrote the bank a letter contesting the charge and asking the bank to remove the charge from his account. The bank denied Krieger’s request, and Krieger paid the charge to avoid incurring late fees. Krieger filed a lawsuit against the bank in state court, alleging that the bank violated the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) by billing him for the full amount of the unauthorized charge after being told of its unauthorized nature. The TILA’s unauthorized-use provision limited a cardholder’s liability for an unauthorized charge to $50. The bank removed the case to federal district court. The district court dismissed Krieger’s claim, holding that the TILA did not require a credit card issuer to reimburse a cardholder. Because Krieger paid the $657 charge, the district court reasoned that his claim was requesting reimbursement. Krieger appealed.