Becker v. Kent

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 96-2729
STEPHEN BECKER,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
JEFFREY KENT,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Baltimore. Frederic N. Smalkin, District Judge. (CA-
96-3044-S)
Submitted: February 13, 1997 Decided: February 25, 1997
Before WIDENER and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges, and BUTZNER, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Stephen Becker, Appellant Pro Se. Jeffrey Kent, Appellee Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Appellant appeals from the district court's order denying his
motion for reconsideration in a civil action arising under the Fair
Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681a-t (1994). We have reviewed
the district court's opinion and find that the motion was merit-
less. However, we note that the district court should have based
its denial on this court's holding in Yohay v. City of Alexandria,
827 F.2d 967, 971-72 (4th Cir. 1987), where we stated that users of
consumer credit reports may be civilly liable for violations of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act if the violations are willful. Because
Appellee obtained Appellant's credit report for a legitimate busi-
ness reason, and not under false pretenses, Appellee did not commit
a willful violation. Id.; see 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n, o, q (1994).
Accordingly, we affirm the denial of relief, albeit on different
grounds than those relied upon by the district court. We dispense
with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are ade-
quately presented in the materials before the court and argument
would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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