Today, in the matter of Bank of America Corp v. City of Miami Florida, the United States Supreme Court has decided by a 5-3 decision that states have the power to sue banks for discriminatory lending practices, including racial discrimination, that led to the recession and foreclosure crisis.
Read the Supreme Court decision here.
In his opinion, Justice Breyer said, “We conclude that the city’s financial injuries fall within the zone of interests that the Fair Housing Act protects…” The development is being heralded is a major victory for blighted cities affected by foreclosures on a mass scale. But the fight is not over. Cities will still need to establish that damages such as lost tax revenue were caused by the foreclosures themselves.
By GianDominic Vitiello, May 1, 2017
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