The plaintiffs in the case claimed that Michaels failed to provide sufficient disclosures that the store intended to procure background checks on job applicants, as required by the FCRA.

However, a U.S. District Judge found that the plaintiffs – who were all hired by Michaels – lacked standing as they could not demonstrate they suffered concrete harm.

In Spokeo, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that in order to have standing to bring such a case, plaintiffs must have suffered a concrete and particularized injury – a requirement that is not automatically satisfied by allegations of a mere statutory violation.

"Plaintiffs allege a violation of what I have called the purely formal requirements of FCRA," the New Jersey federal judge ruled. “They do not factually allege any harm aside from the statutory violation itself."

Source: Law360.com, 1/25/2017