Absolutely. We should be able to successfully sue credit rating agencies for monetary damages if they tell a lender false information about us and it causes us to not get a loan or have a higher rate than is warranted. It should not matter whether they know it’s false. The harm happens regardless of whether they were negligent or malicious.
This sets a dangerous precedent. If you won, it would apply to all defamation/libel/slander cases, not just credit reporting agencies. News agencies could be sued for saying anything about someone if it later turned out to be false. Defamation laws are already on the brink of unconstitutionality.
This doesn't seem like a bad thing. If I say something untrue about you, and that causes you to suffer damages, you should be able to come after you for those damages, regardless of whether I am a credit rating agency, a journalist, or a regular joe.
If I said to your employer, "I'm pretty sure judge2020 is a wanted criminal," and they actually fired you over it, you should be able to successfully sue me for lost wages (or if you sued your company, they should in turn be able to go after me).
