On May 29, 2014, the City of Providence, Rhode Island, filed a lawsuit in federal court against Santander Bank, N.A., accusing the bank of discrimination in mortgage lending. The City alleges that since 2009, Santander has deliberately discriminated by refusing to make prime mortgage loans available in minority neighborhoods, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. Since it …
race
Pelham, NC, Landlord Order to Pay $36,000 for Race Discrimination
On April 10, 2014, a Virginia landlord with property in Pelham, NC, was ordered to pay $36,000 for discriminating against prospective African American tenants. The landlord, John Sylvania Matthews, III, resides in Danville, VA, and rents property in both Virginia and North Carolina. The case arose in September 2013, when an African American woman called him about a …
City of Dubuque to End Discriminatory Residency Preference in Housing Program
On April 15, 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it had reached an agreement with the City of Dubuque, Iowa, to settle allegations that the City discriminated against African Americans in the administration of its Housing Choice (“Section 8”) Voucher Program. In a 2011 review, HUD had found that …
Study Finds Racial Discrimination in On-Line Advertising
A working paper released by two Harvard Business School professors found price discrimination in on-line listings on the Airbnb.com website, which advertises itself as “a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world.” According to the study, African Americans who listed housing for rent in New York charged (and …
HUD, Deutsche Bank Subsidiary Settle Lending Discrimination Case
On November 5, 2013, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it had reached a settlement with MortgageIT, Inc., Deutsche Bank subsidiary, regarding claims that the lender had discriminated in making mortgage loans. HUD had alleged that the lender discriminated against African American and Hispanic borrowers with practices that led to African Americans and …
NC residential segregation affects housing, environmental justice, education
A September 2013 report by the UNC Center for Civil Rights examines the connection between residential segregation in North Carolina and access to essential services and opportunities. “The State of Exclusion: An Empirical Analysis of the Legacy of Segregated Communities in North Carolina” maps the potential impacts of “community exclusion” in five areas: housing, environmental …
Study Finds More Subtle Housing Discrimination Persists in US
A new report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on June 11, 2013, finds that while blatant acts of housing discrimination have declined in the U.S., “more subtle forms of housing denial stubbornly persist” in both the rental and sales markets. The study, titled “Housing Discrimination Against Racial and Ethnic Minorities 2012,” was …
Wells Fargo Bank Settles Fair Housing Complaint Over REO Property Maintenance
On June 6, 2013, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., will invest $39 million in 45 communities across the country to settle a fair housing complaint over how it maintained Real Estate Owned (REO) property in a number of communities across the country. REO property is property that a …
Research Links Higher Racial Segregation with Increased Cancer
A study published in the January 2013 issue of the medical journal JAMA Surgery finds that African Americans have higher lung cancer mortality rates than whites and that African Americans who live in the most segregated counties in the U.S. have 20% higher mortality rates than African Americans who live in less segregated counties. By contrast, whites …
Morgan Stanley Sued for Discriminating in Mortgage Lending
On October 15, 2012, five Detroit residents and Michigan Legal Services sued Morgan Stanley for discriminating against African American homeowners by “providing strong incentives to a subprime lender to originate mortgages that were likely to be foreclosed on.” In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking the court to certify a class action that could have …