Suit calls lending discriminatory
City of Baltimore attorney John Relman said in federal court that Wells Fargo & Co. targeted black neighborhoods for risky, subprime mortgages.
Targeting African-American communities with risky products was one of the leading causes of the disproportionately high rate of foreclosures,
in those neighborhoods, Relman said, the Baltimore Sun reported Thursday.
Wells Fargo attorney Andrew Sandler said Baltimore’s tax lien system and high property taxes were to blame for the foreclosures. City attorneys have not shown a single assertion that’s beyond mere speculation that Wells Fargo is the problem,
he said.
But, the case could be legally groundbreaking. Similar cases have been filed in Texas, Tennessee and California.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is pursuing a lawsuit against lenders and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has filed a discrimination suit against Standard & Poor’s, the credit-rating firm.
The hearing in Baltimore was held to determine if the case could continue. Wells Fargo argued the suit did not detail the injuries suffered.
Relman said the city would demonstrate the precise injury
if the case was allowed to continue, the Sun reported.