Magner v. Gallagher – Consumer Financial Services Watch

Supreme Court Case on Disparate Impact Voluntarily Dismissed – Parties in Magner v. Gallagher Say Never Mind

Feb 17 2012

In a rare and unexpected move, the City of St. Paul last Friday agreed to dismiss its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging whether a violation under the Fair Housing Act may be proved under a disparate impact legal theory, or whether proof of intentional discrimination is required. As we posted previously, the Supreme Court on November 7, 2011 granted certiorari in Magner v. Gallagher to determine that issue. All briefs in the matter had been submitted, and oral argument was set for later this month. Read More

HUD’s Proposed Fair Lending Rule: Deadline for Comments

Dec 05 2011

By: Melissa S. Malpass

On November 16, 2011 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) released a proposed rule to establish that proof of intentional discrimination is not necessary to establish a violation of the Fair Housing Act, and that a violation may be established under a disparate impact approach. HUD’s proposal makes clear the intention of the agency to apply this new approach to lenders. In describing policies “that may have a disparate impact,” the proposal references: “mortgage pricing policies that give lenders or brokers discretion to impose additional charges or higher interest rates unrelated to a borrower’s creditworthiness” and “credit scoring overrides provided by a purchaser of loans.” Read More

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