Last year, Ray Brescia wrote in Shelterforce about the potential for lawsuits against banks that engaged in predatory lending or reverse redlining, based on both “toxic product” and discrimination bases.
Yesterday the New York Times reported that two of the cases Brescia mentioned — Baltimore’s and Memphis’s — have been refined enough to overcome previous dismissals on the grounds that they were too vague or didn’t provide enough connection between the lender (Wells Fargo) and the vacant homes and are now allowed to go forward. It will be very interesting to see how these suits proceed.
