Citibank, Best Buy, Macy's Move Court to Compel Arbitration in Fraud Case

Citibank, Best Buy and Macy’s moved the court to compel plaintiff Venton Smith to arbitrate his fraud lawsuit against numerous banks, retailers and credit reporting agencies on an individual basis and to stay the instant action pending the outcome of arbitration proceedings, said their Friday motion to compel (docket 3:23-cv-02804) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco. Smith claimed in his pro se suit involving the 2019 Capital One data breach, in which an Amazon Web Services employee stole data affecting about 106 million customers, that at least 12 of his accounts were fraudulently accessed to secure loans, merchandise and products totaling $92,300. Defendants' motion is made on the grounds that a valid and enforceable agreement to arbitrate exists between the parties that encompasses Smith’s claims; Smith must arbitrate his claims as required by the arbitration agreement; and the instant action should be stayed pending completion of the arbitration, it said. Smith claims his Citibank, Best Buy and Macy’s credit accounts were fraudulently accessed from November 2019 to December 2020 to purchase unknown merchandise (see 2307140038). He alleges Citibank “failed to conduct a reasonable investigation with respect to the disputed information” and furnished inaccurate information to consumer reporting agencies. As a result, Smith suffered substantial harm, including “damaged creditworthiness, ability to ascertain employment, housing and emotional distress.” Defendant Equifax reached a settlement with Smith this month (see 2307140038).