Aulbach

ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS TO DISMISS '

When someone’s debt is folded into a confirmed Chapter 13 plan of reorganization, the nature of-that debt changes. The plaintiffs in these coordinated cases believe the change is material to creditworthiness *1283 and must therefore be reflected in their credit reports. They allege that the way credit reporting agencies describe the debts following a Chapter 13 confirmation fails to reflect that change, in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The defendants have filed motions to dismiss, primarily on the ground that there is no need to change the way a debt is reported following Chapter 13 confirmation. The defendants are in excellent company: at least 11 judges in the Northern District of California have accepted some version.of their argument. But now the plaintiffs have some meager company of their own. This Court concludes that the failure to report changes in the nature of debt stemming from a Chapter 13 confirmation can indeed violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and that the plaintiffs have stated a claim in this regard.

However, the defendants fleetingly assert a' second ground in support of dismissal, namely that the…