Equifax received preliminary approval for a $100 million settlement over a 2022 coding error that miscalculated credit scores for approximately 4 million consumers, marking the largest settlement in Fair Credit Reporting Act history. On August 17, 2026, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May granted the approval in the Northern District of Georgia, according to DiCello Levitt, one of the lead counsel firms on the case.
The lawsuit centered on a three-week period from March 17 through April 6, 2022, when a coding glitch in Equifax’s systems caused the company to report inaccurate credit scores to lenders. According to the settlement documents, some scores were lowered by more than 20 points—a difference significant enough to cause lenders to deny credit or charge higher interest rates to affected consumers who applied for mortgages, auto loans, or credit cards during that window.
Equifax acknowledged the error in August 2022 but initially stated that underlying consumer credit report data had not been altered, only the scores sent to lenders. The company attributed the miscalculation to reliance on “antiquated legacy systems and inadequate testing systems,” according to court filings cited by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The fix was implemented on April 6, 2022, the same day the three-week error period ended.
The $100 million settlement will be distributed directly to the approximately 4 million class members affected by the coding error. Notably, the settlement fund is non-reversionary, meaning any unclaimed money will not revert to Equifax—a provision that protects consumers’ interests if some eligible people do not file claims.
This settlement represents a significant development in consumer protection under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law that governs how credit bureaus collect, maintain, and report consumer credit information. The settlement is larger than a separate $2.2 million Equifax settlement, approved in May 2026, that addressed claims the company reported some consumer collection accounts more than once on credit reports.
A final fairness hearing is scheduled for January 22, 2027, at which point the judge will determine whether to grant final approval. Once final approval is granted, payments to class members will begin to be distributed. The case is styled as In re: Equifax Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation (Case No. 1:22-cv-03072) and was brought by DiCello Levitt alongside co-counsel from Caplan Cobb, Gibbs Mura, and Girard Sharp.
Sources
- DiCello Levitt LLP — preliminary settlement approval announcement, class member count, coding error details, and final hearing date
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — settlement amount, class size, coding error timeline, and Equifax’s acknowledged system failures
- Morningstar/Business Wire — final fairness hearing date and co-counsel information
