Equifax settles fair credit reporting act suit

Equifax reached a settlement with plaintiff Junnan Guo in her Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit filed last May. The parties notified the court of the settlement late last week. 

In the filing, Equifax and Guo told California-based U.S. District Court Judge Kenly Kiya Kato that they anticipate filing a joint stipulation to dismiss Equifax from the suit with prejudice within the next two months. This would mean that Guo would not be able to refile her suit against Equifax in the future. The filing did not disclose any details of the settlement and the parties did not immediately return HousingWire’s request for comment. 

The lawsuit initially named Equifax, Automobile Club of Southern California, American First Credit Union, Adler Wallach & Associates, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, Xactus and Bridgecrest Acceptance Corp. as defendants. Xactus was dismissed from the lawsuit in September 2025, after receiving a favorable ruling on its motion to dismiss. Citibank and the Automobile Club of Southern California were also dismissed from the lawsuit, however they were brought back in after being named as defendants in Guo’s second amended complaint filed in mid-November 2025. Xactus was not named in the amended complaint.

In the second amended complaint, Guo claims that after she was the victim of identity theft, the financial institution and credit bureau defendants continued to report and attempt to collect fraudulent debts after she provided proof of the fraud. In doing such she alleges that they violated federal and California consumer protection laws by failing to properly investigate and correct her credit reports. As a result of this, Guo claims that her credit score was damaged causing her to have to pay higher costs for credit.

Specifically in regard to Equifax, Guo alleged that the company failed to conduct a reasonable investigation into the dispute she lodged and in doing acted negligently and willfully damaging her creditworthiness. 

The remaining defendants in the lawsuit have all filed motions to dismiss the second amended complaint. These motions are currently being considered by the court.