Until recently lawyers for victims of credit damage had little possibility to collect for damages beyond medical treatment, lost wages and property loss. Insurance companies threw up their hands in sympathy, claiming victims can only be compensated for what can be measured — tangible goods and services. But, what happens when
victim has lost considerable time from work, family bank is broke and monthly payments on mortgages, car loans and credit cards payments are missed? Regardless of haggling between lawyers and insurance companies, it’s credit victim who ends up having to live with a bad credit rating. Today, there are legally accepted means for measuring loss of credit through procedure of Credit Damage Measurement (CDM). CDM is fast becoming a potent tool for recoverable credit damage awards when damage is not self-inflicted. Previously, both judge and jury, and especially insurance companies, refused to acknowledge CDM claiming it was speculative because they could not define it as tangible damage. However, in case after case, victims of credit damage who use CDM method are getting compensation for credit loss. Many factors are changing old mindset including credit bureau technology improvements, application of Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), risk scoring sophistication, and development of CDM as an objective, repeatable method that measures out-of-pocket damage reliably.
Credit Ratings and Recovery
The impact of a bad credit rating is much more significant than most people think. Consider what poorly rated consumers face when they want to lease or buy vehicles, obtain credit cards, buy or lease or refinance their residence. In most cases, it’s an easy decision for creditor: credit application is simply turned down or borrower is charged a much higher down payment – maybe thousands of dollars more with monthly payments that are typically several hundred dollars more.
“A person with bad credit is viewed with suspicion and is charged significantly more for future extension of credit because lender feels need to protect against a greater risk or default,” says Tom Key, a civil litigator practicing in Tustin, CA.
“Over years I have heard reports of financial damages from clients who have been wrongfully terminated, defrauded, injured in an accident or suffered losses from breach of contract,” Key says. “These victims were especially distraught over fact that their prime credit reputation, carefully nurtured for years, is destroyed overnight. It seemed to me that there must be a way to compensate victims for that type of loss.”
Key has witnessed reactions of many jurors who failed to award a victim of credit damage their rightful compensation simply because they could not quantify damages. “Jurors want a specific loss that they can count, hold and see,” says Key. “Their reasoning is that they need to know that it is genuine. They have a tough time awarding damages based on sympathy. In order for them to confirm authenticity of a claim, they want to see its quantification.”
