Taft Appellate attorneys Jon Olivito and Michael Robertson recently wrote about a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decision that clarified the scope of conduct that could potentially expose any consumer business to immense liability.

In Thomas v. TOMS King (Ohio), LLC, No. 20-3977 (6th Cir. May 11, 2021), a consumer sued a defendant business alleging a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA). The plaintiff alleged the defendant had violated the “truncation requirement” of FACTA and exposed her to an increased risk of identity theft by issuing a credit card that included the first six and last four digits of her credit card number. In an effort to thwart identify theft, the truncation requirement prohibits businesses from printing more than the last five digits of a customer’s credit or debit card number on a receipt. Violations of FACTA can expose businesses to actual and statutory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.

Read the full Taft law bulletin.