Timeline of Developments
Last development: June 18, 2026
- June 18, 2026
Plaintiffs formally oppose the motion to dismiss
Kistler and Bhaumik file their opposition brief, asking the judge to deny Eightfold's motion to dismiss and let the case proceed. Under the briefing schedule set by the court, Eightfold's reply brief was due July 9, 2026. As of this page's last check, the docket had not yet shown that reply, and no ruling has been issued - the motion is expected to be argued at the August 4, 2026 hearing.
- April 20, 2026
Eightfold asks the court to throw the case out
Eightfold AI files a 35-page motion to dismiss the complaint, arguing (according to the court docket) that its platform doesn't meet the legal definition of a "consumer reporting agency" and that its output isn't a "consumer report" under the FCRA. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for August 4, 2026 in Oakland, before Judge Gonzalez Rogers. Filing a motion to dismiss this early is a normal defensive move - it doesn't mean the court has ruled on the merits of either side's arguments.
- March 2, 2026
Eightfold moves the case from state court to federal court
Eightfold AI Inc. files a Notice of Removal, moving the case out of Contra Costa County Superior Court and into the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where it's docketed as case no. 3:26-cv-01768. Removal is a standard procedural step a defendant can take when a case raises a federal legal question - here, the FCRA claim - even though it started in state court. The case is briefly assigned to a magistrate judge before being reassigned on March 16, 2026 to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is now overseeing it.
- January 20, 2026
Erin Kistler and Sruti Bhaumik sue Eightfold AI in California state court
Two job applicants, Erin Kistler and Sruti Bhaumik, file a proposed class-action complaint against Eightfold AI Inc. in Contra Costa County Superior Court (case no. C26-00214). They're represented by the law firm Outten & Golden LLP - including partner Jenny R. Yang, a former chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - and by the nonprofit worker-advocacy group Towards Justice. The complaint alleges Eightfold's AI platform builds hidden, algorithm-generated evaluations of job applicants that function as "consumer reports" under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and California's Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) - without the disclosure, consent, and dispute rights those laws require. It does not allege the AI is biased in who it screens out.