Court Rejects Claim That NPS Violated Credit Reporting Laws In Sale Of Entrance Pass

A court recently rejected a claim that the National Park Service had violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by printing the expiration date of a visitor’s debit card on the receipt for her National Park pass.  The visitor used her debit card to purchase an entrance pass to Yellowstone National Park and the receipt for her pass contained the month and year of her card’s expiration date.  Afterwards, the debit card was fraudulently used.  The visitor claimed that NPS violated the credit reporting law by printing her expiration date on the receipt and that this led to the fraud.  Noting that 300,000,000 people visit National Parks, the visitor’s attorney tried to bring a class action claim.

The court noted that some courts have held that the government may be subject to liability for violating the FCRA.  However, the court held that the more persuasive judicial opinions showed that the government was immune from any liability for violating the FCRA.  As a result, the court dismissed the lawsuit.