VantageScore sees growth after court ruling

NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters) - VantageScore Solutions, LLC, manager of a consumer credit score that competes with the omnipresent FICO measure, on Tuesday said a court ruling that dismissed antitrust allegations would clear a path for growth.

U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery last week rejected claims by FICO provider Fair Isaac Corp FIC.N that big credit reporting companies engaged in unfair and anticompetitive practices in developing VantageScore. Fair Isaac can proceed on a narrower set of claims, however, including trademark infringment.

Credit scores are the basis for bank decisions on most forms of consumer credit, including home mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. The FICO score dominates the landscape, but VantageScore said it has made headway this year.

VantageScore celebrated the ruling, noting that the charges filed in 2006 may have hindered its growth.

"It's time to get on with our business," Barrett Burns, chief executive officer of Stamford, Connecticut-based VantageScore Solutions, said in an interview on Tuesday.

"There have got to be some lenders that were probably hesitating (in using VantageScore) until these things got resolved. This removes that adoption barrier."

Fair Isaac Chief Executive Mark Greene earlier told Reuters that the company is in settlement talks with the credit reporting agencies Experian Plc and TransUnion.

(Reporting by Al Yoon; Editing by David Gregorio)