Add the Honorable Paul Matey to the list of federal appellate judges to have raised concerns about the content and direction of the Supreme Court's standing jurisprudence. In a recent concurrence, in Barclift v. Keystone Credit Services, Judge Matey raised concerns about how current doctrine directs courts to identify what qualifies as an "injury-in-fact" for the purposes of Article III and, in the process (and quoting Justice Elena Kagan), suggested that the whole law of standing "needs a rewrite."
At issue in Barclift was whether a consumer whose personal information was shared by a creditor with a third party, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, suffers an injury that is sufficiently "concrete" to satisfy the requirements of Article III. Judge Arianna Freeman, joined by Judge Julio Fuentes, concluded that such an "injury," standing alone, is insufficient, even though it violates federal law. Judge Matey dissented, arguing that (at least under the Supreme Court's decision in TransUnion v. Ramirez), Barclift's injury was sufficient.
Judge Matey's opinion concurring in part, dissenting in part, and concurring in the judgment begins:
