Last week, the Solicitor General finally filed his brief expressing the views of the United States on whether the U.S. Supreme Court should grant the petition for certiorari pending in Township of Mount Holly v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc.  (The Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General to file the brief in October 2012.) … Continue Reading

The “disparate impact” test to prove discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B is still alive and well. That’s the message sent by the CFPB today in 
 Bulletin 2012-14 (Fair Lending).  In the bulletin, which the CFPB says it issued “in response to recent inquiries,” the CFPB “reaffirms that the legal doctrine of disparate impact remains applicable as the Bureau exercises it supervision and enforcement authority to enforce compliance with the ECOA and Regulation B.”… Continue Reading

The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in a case that may require the CFPB to re-write part of its recently-released Mortgage Servicing Examination Procedures. Magner v. Gallagher raises the issue of whether disparate impact claims are even cognizable under the Fair Housing Act, and will require the Supreme Court to decide that issue in the context of deferring (or not deferring) to a long-standing HUD interpretation of that Act to allow disparate impact claims.… Continue Reading