26
Opinion of the Court
v. Trans Union Corp., 7 F. Supp. 2d 1056, 1066-1067 (CD Cal. 1998).4
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed this ruling, applying what it considered to be the "general federal rule . . . that a federal statute of limitations begins to run when a party knows or has reason to know that she was injured." 225 F. 3d 1063, 1066 (2000). The court rejected the District Court's conclusion that the text of § 1681p, and in particular the limited exception set forth in that section, precluded judicial attribution of such a rule to the FCRA. "[U]nless Congress has expressly legislated otherwise," the Ninth Circuit declared, "the equitable doctrine of discovery is read into every federal statute of limitations." Id., at 1067 (internal quotation marks omitted). Finding no such express directive, the Court of Appeals held that "none of [Andrews'] injuries were stale when suit was brought." Id., at 1066. Accordingly, the court reinstated Andrews' improper disclosure claims and remanded them for trial.
In holding that § 1681p incorporates a general discovery rule, the Ninth Circuit parted company with four other Circuits; those courts have concluded that a discovery exception other than the one Congress expressed may not be read into the Act. See Clark v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Ins. Co., 54 F. 3d 669 (CA10 1995); Rylewicz v. Beaton Servs., Ltd., 888 F. 2d 1175 (CA7 1989); Houghton v. Insurance Crime Prevention Institute, 795 F. 2d 322 (CA3 1986); Clay v. Equifax, Inc., 762 F. 2d 952 (CA11 1985). We granted certiorari to resolve this conflict, 532 U. S. 902 (2001), and now reverse.
4 The District Court also granted summary judgment to TRW on the two remaining improper disclosure claims, reasoning that TRW maintained adequate procedures and that the disputed disclosures had been made for a permissible purpose as defined by § 1681b. See Andrews v. Trans Union Corp., 7 F. Supp. 2d, at 1068-1071. The Ninth Circuit reversed that ruling. 225 F. 3d 1063, 1067-1068 (2000). Such questions, the Appeals Court held, "needed determination by a jury not a judge." Id., at 1068.
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