Cindy D. Hanson

Cindy D. Hanson

Cindy D. Hanson is a member of the Complex Business Litigation team.

A significant portion of Ms. Hanson's practice is devoted to the defense of class actions. She is currently representing or has recently represented Equifax, Winn-Dixie and Pepsi Bottling Group in class action matters. She has been a member of several teams that have filed Petitions for Permission to Appeal under Fed. Rule of Civ. Proc. 23(f) in the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits. She was part of the team that prepared the Fed. Rule of Civ. Proc. 23(f) Petition to the Seventh Circuit in Blair v. Equifax Check Services, 181 F.3d 832 (7th Cir. 1999). The Blair decision is the first reported decision on the standard that a court should use when deciding whether or not to accept a Petition for Permission to Appeal under Rule 23(f). This standard, while slightly modified by some circuits, has remained the basis by which Rule 23(f) petitions are reviewed.

In addition, Ms. Hanson has handled hundreds of matters under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Her practice includes the representation of both consumer reporting agencies and entities who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies.

Ms. Hanson has made presentations on the Class Action Fairness Act and has been a presenter on class action issues at Georgia Continuing Legal Education Seminars. She has also published articles and legal alerts on class action issues.

Selected Experience

· Washington v. CSC Credit Services, Inc., Equifax Inc., Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc. (E.D. La.). Prior to Ms. Hanson's involvement in this case, plaintiff successfully obtained certification of the class with an estimated membership of approximately 10 million consumers. Ms. Hanson drafted the Request for Interlocutory Appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). This request was accepted by the Fifth Circuit. Ms. Hanson was the primary draftsperson of the briefs in the Fifth Circuit and presented oral argument on behalf of Equifax. In January 2000, the Fifth Circuit unanimously reversed the district court's decision and decertified the class. 199 F.3d 263 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 530 U.S. 1261 (2000). In addition, the Court decided a significant question of law under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") in favor of the credit reporting industry. Upon remand to the district court, Ms. Hanson prepared and argued the motion for summary judgment. The motion was granted with respect to one plaintiff, and the other five plaintiffs thereafter dismissed their claims.

· Hillis v. Equifax Consumer Services, Inc. and Fair Isaac Corporation (N.D. Ga.). The plaintiffs allege that Equifax and Fair Isaac have violated the Credit Repair Organizations Act by selling consumers a product that provides a credit score and an explanation of that score. Plaintiffs seek a nationwide class of all consumers who purchased the product. Ms. Hanson has significant involvement in all aspects of the case, including discovery (document production and depositions) and case strategy. She was responsible for all class aspects of the case including briefing. The District Court recently denied plaintiff's motion for class certification and plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment. 2006 WL 2434078 (N.D. Ga. Aug. 18, 2006), vacated due to settlement.

· Colgan v. Cingular Wireless LLC (D.S.C.). The plaintiffs alleged that Cingular violated the FCRA and several state common law theories by failing to properly investigate the plaintiffs' claim that an item appearing on one of the plaintiff's credit report was inaccurate. During the action, Ms. Hanson successfully defeated plaintiffs' attempt to add class claims to the case arguing that a class action was not proper. In addition, Ms. Hanson defended an attempt by plaintiffs to have this ruling reviewed on an interlocutory basis pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(f). All of the plaintiffs' state law claims were dismissed prior to trial. At trial, Ms. Hanson was lead trial counsel. At the close of plaintiffs' evidence, she obtained a directed verdict with respect to one of the plaintiffs. The jury returned a complete defense verdict with respect to the second plaintiff finding that Cingular did not violate the FCRA. No appeal was taken from the verdict.

· White v. Imperial Adjustment Corp., Imperial Fire and Casualty Company, Equifax Inc. and Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc. (E.D. La.). In this putative class action, plaintiff primarily sought the certification of a class numbering in excess of 50,000 consumers alleging violations of the FCRA. Ms. Hanson was the principal draftsperson of the briefs and argued in opposition of class certification on three occasions in front of two district court judges. Her briefing and arguments resulted in a class of only 125 consumers being certified. The case was favorably settled prior to trial, including the reduction of plaintiff's requested attorneys' fee by 88%. 2005 WL 1578810 (E.D. La. June 28, 2005).

· White v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., et al., 05-CV-1070 (C.D. Ca.), consolidated with Hernandez v. Equifax Information Services LLC (C.D. Ca.): In this putative class action, Plaintiffs allege that the Firm's client, Equifax, and the other two national credit reporting agencies (Experian and TransUnion) violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by, inter alia, failing to accurately report debts that were discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. Plaintiffs, who are represented by several counsel, sought the certification of a nationwide class consisting of consumers who received a Chapter 7 discharge and who had one or more of their pre-petition debts reported in a manner that was inconsistent with a Chapter 7 discharge. The case was actively litigated for nearly three years. In January 2009, the district court issued a tentative decision denying Plaintiffs' motion for class certification. The case settled shortly thereafter. The settlement has received preliminary approval and a final approval hearing is scheduled for November 2009.

· Harris v. Equifax Information Services LLC, 06-CV-1810 (D.S.C.): In this case, the Plaintiff alleges that Equifax violated the FCRA by failing to report credit limit information regarding Plaintiff's Capital One credit card account. Similar lawsuits are pending against Experian and TransUnion. The matter has been actively litigated for over two years. In May 2008, the Court granted Plaintiff's request for certification of a regional class, but denied Plaintiff's request for certification of a nationwide class action. In addition, the Court later clarified its class certification ruling in a manner that we believe made it much more difficult for Plaintiff to establish liability. Equifax's Motion for Summary Judgment on all of Plaintiff's claims was granted in June 2009.

Background

· Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

· Member of the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law.

· In 1993, she co-authored an article entitled "Degree of Capacity Required to Create an Inter Vivos Trust" which appeared in Trusts and Estates.

· AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

· Prior to joining Kilpatrick Stockton, Ms. Hanson practiced at Chadbourne & Parke LLP for four years.