Trw Inc. v. Andrews

Summary

The Court held that the Fair Credit Reporting Act's then-applicable two-year statute of limitations did not incorporate a general discovery rule. Congress's express discovery exception for specified willful misrepresentations implicitly excluded a broader discovery rule, which would also render the express exception largely superfluous. The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and remanded, leaving undecided whether federal limitations statutes generally carry a discovery presumption and whether liability under the Act arises only when actual damages materialize. Justice Scalia, joined by Justice Thomas, concurred in the judgment, arguing that the traditional default rule starts limitations when a plaintiff has a complete cause of action and criticizing the majority for leaving that default rule uncertain.