No Private Right of Action for Creditor’s Disclosure of Social Security Number

Recently, in Matthys v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC (In re Matthys), 2010 WL 2176086 (Bankr. S.D. Ind. 2010), a bankruptcy court held that a debtor does not have a private right of action against the creditor who listed the debtor’s full social security number on its proof of claim. This holding is consistent with what the majority of courts have held in similar cases. While the joint debtors in Matthys sought relief under various statutes, including Bankruptcy Code sections 105 and 107, the court found that no private right of action existed.

In Matthys, the debtors listed its lender as a secured creditor in their schedules. The lender’s servicing agent included the debtors’ full social security numbers when it filed an electronic proof of claim. The court granted the debtor’s Rule 9037 motion and removed the proof of claim from public access on PACER. Next, the debtors brought an adversary proceeding against the servicing agent seeking damages for violating several statutes, including Bankruptcy Code section 107, The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2, Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037, and various tort claims such as invasion of privacy, negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. The court, however, found no private right of action existed under the Bankruptcy Code or any other statute. However, the court did send the complaint for contempt to trial, since the court, but not the debtors, has the power to do so. Section 105(a) provides that bankruptcy courts “may issue any order, process, or judgment that is necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this title.” The Matthys court concluded that it only had the power to hold the creditor in contempt, because the broad power under section 105 “is not limitless and . . . does not create a private right of action.” The court stressed that while a private right of action can be expressed or implied in a statute, courts are unwilling to go against congressional intent when searching for such a right.

Although several courts agree with the Matthys analysis, other courts do find that a private right of action exists under section 105(a). See In re Gregg, 428 B.R. 345 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2009); In re Killian, 2009 WL 2927950 (Bankr. D.S.C. July 23, 2009). For example, in McKenzie v. Biloxi Internal Medicine Clinic (In re McKenzie), 2010 WL 917262 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. March 10, 2010), the court held that it had the authority to compensate a debtor under section 105(a). McKenzie addressed similar facts to Matthys. The McKenzie court justified its decision by citing several rare cases where section 105 was used to compensate the complainant, typically for actual damages and attorney’s fees.

In re Matthys raises many concerns, both for debtors and creditors. Some courts do recognize a private right of action. Even if a debtor has no private right of action, the courts may still hold creditors in contempt under section 105. Thus, courts can and do hold creditors liable for violating Rule 9037.

Social Security Number Facts

You can check your identity for identity fraud free at MyIDScore.com; the personal information you share is collected in an opt-out manner. That is, you’ll have to send the company an e-mail to stop it from using your data to “make our fraud prevention tools better.”


There is a method to the assignment of Social Security numbers which can help a little bit in spotting frauds. The first three digits are determined by where you lived when you received your number; 596 to 599, for example, are issued to residents of Puerto Rico (yes, it’s part of the United States). The higher the number, the further west you lived at the time you received your number. There are no Social Security numbers starting with 900-999.

000 unused 387-399                 WI 528-529               UT001-003           NH 400-407         KY 530

NV004-007                              ME 408-415              TN 531-539          WA008-009         VT 416-424

AL 540-544                             OR 010-034                 MA 425-428         MS 545-573

CA 035-039                               RI 429-432                AR 574                  AK 040-049       CT 433-439

LA 575-576                               HI 050-134                NY 440-448           OK 577-579                     

DC 135-158                               NJ 449-467               TX 580                               

VI Virgin Islands 159-211           PA 468-477               MN 581-584

PR Puerto Rico212-220              MD 478-485 IA 585   NM  221-222           DE 486-500                      

MO 586                                      PI Pacific Islands* 223-231                      VA 501-502

ND 587-588                               MS 232-236                        WV 503-504                SD 589-595

FL 237-246                                 NC 505-508                      NE 596-599

PR Puerto Rico 247-251              SC 509-515                       KS 600-601                AZ 252-260

GA 516-517                                 MT 602-626                      CA 261-267

FL 518-519                                   ID *Guam, American Samoa, 268-302

OH 520                                         WY Northern Mariana Islands, 303-317

IN 521-524                                    CO Philippine Islands 318-361                        IL 525

NM 362-386                                   MI 526-527                              AZ 627-699

unassigned, for future use 700-728

Railroad workers through 1963, then discontinued 729-899 unassigned, for future use

900-999 not valid SSNs, but were used for program purposes when state aid to the aged, blind and disabled was converted to a federal program administered by SSA.

http://stopforeclosurefraud.com/2010/08/13/your-social-security-number-may-not-be-unique-to-you/

https://annualcreditreport.experian.com/AnnualCreditReport/cac/ReportSummary2.do

https://www.myidscore.com/

http://w2.eff.org/Privacy/ID_SSN_fingerprinting/ssn_structure.article

http://stevemorse.org/ssn/ssn.html