Fate Of Municipal-Plaintiff FHA Suits In Justices' Hands
Law360, New York ( June 28, 2016, 5:20 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday announced it will hear an appeal by two banks in a case that could define the reach of mortgage discrimination lawsuits under the Fair Housing Act. Bank of America and Wells Fargo are challenging the city of Miami's lawsuit seeking to hold the banks responsible for allegedly discriminatory mortgage practices dating back to the subprime boom which, the city claims, resulted in a raft of foreclosures, in turn causing them to lose property tax revenue and incur out-of-pocket costs associated with municipal services rendered at vacant properties. The banks argue that the municipality is not an "aggrieved person" under the law — both because reduced tax receipts and municipal expenditures are not within the "zone of interests" Congress sought to protect in enacting the FHA, and because the city's injuries, if any, were not caused by any alleged discriminatory conduct....
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