Servicing-industry news site DSNews is reporting that the housing advocacy group whose lawsuit last year sparked a controversial decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing disparate impact cases to be brought under the Fair Housing Act has now seen that lawsuit dismissed by a federal judge who ruled that the group failed to meet the Supreme Court’s standard of establishing disparate impact. The disparate impact issue has become a heated one in housing in the last few years, especially since the Obama Administration passed a rule allowing disparate impact claims—which are allegations made based on neutral practices that may have a discriminatory effect—under the Fair Housing Act in February 2013.
U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater in the North Texas court dismissed ICP’s claims on August 26, ruling that ICP failed to provide any evidence that TDHCA’s discretionary application of the low-income tax credits had any disparate impact on low-income housing in North Texas.
Click here to read the full story on DSNews.
Click here to read U.S. District Judge Fitzwater’s decision on Bloomberg Law.
Fair Housing Act and Disparate-Impact, Real Estate Investing Today 8/20/15
