Cosmas v. American Express: When You've Already Won — and the Bank Keeps Reporting the Debt

The setup

American Express reported a roughly $48,000 business-card delinquency on Peter Cosmas's personal credit for years — even after a state court entered judgment that he was not liable for the debt. He disputed through Equifax with the judgment in hand; the reporting continued.

The rulings

Cosmas v. American Express Centurion Bank, 757 F. Supp. 2d 489 (D.N.J. 2010). Judge Wolfson restated the D.N.J. framework — no private action under § 1681s-2(a), but once the bureau forwards the dispute:

"Once the notice is received by the furnisher of information, the furnisher is then required to take several steps to resolve the dispute."

And the court denied Amex summary judgment on the FCRA claim: a jury could find that an investigation that brushed past a court judgment of non-liability was unreasonable.

Why it matters

This is the D.N.J. ancestor of what the Fourth Circuit recently made explicit circuit-wide in Roberts v. Carter-Young — "legal" disputes (you don't owe the debt) are not a free pass for furnishers. If you hold a judgment, a settlement letter, a discharge order, or an account statement showing zero — and the furnisher keeps "verifying" the debt anyway — you are not stuck. Send the proof through the bureau channel, keep the "verified" response, and bring both to a lawyer.

See also disputing through the bureau, Ingram on furnisher investigations, and Burrell v. DFS. To have your paper trail reviewed, start at our FCRA attorney page.