After being named in a class action lawsuit claiming credit and debit card receipts at Oneida One-Stop locations did not properly shorten credit and debit card numbers the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed the suit on September 9 based on sovereign immunity.
The complaint, filed by Jeremy Meyers, claims that in February of 2015 One-Stop locations at Packerland, Larsen, and Travel Center printed off more than the last five digits of his credit card along with the expiration date.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003 strictly states electronic receipts may not include more than the last five digits of the credit or debit card number. It also prohibits the printing of the card’s expiration date. FACTA allows for damages in the amount of $100 to $1000 per violation.
The Oneida Nation requested dismissal of the claim on sovereign immunity grounds and that Meyers could not prove any harm done. The suit was dismissed in district court, then appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Meyers argued in appeals court that FACTA applies to governments, which would mean Indian Nations would be subject to the credit card law.
The three-panel appeals court disagreed.
“Congress did not specifically list Indian Tribes in FACTA’s definition of Person. Meyer’s claims that the definition of Person which includes “any government” is broad enough to include Indian Tribes. Perhaps if Congress were writing on a blank slate, this argument would have more teeth, but Congress has demonstrated that it knows full well how to abrogate tribal immunity,” the ruling said.
“The district court did not dismiss his claim because it concluded that Indian Tribes are not governments. It dismissed his claim because it could not find a clear, unequivocal statement in FACTA that Congress meant to abrogate the sovereign immunity of Indian Tribes. Congress has demonstrated that it knows how to u equivocally abrogate immunity for Indian Tribes, It did not do so in FACTA.”
The case was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on April 14, 2015. It was dismissed by that court on September 4, 2015.
