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City of Miami dismisses pending FHA lawsuits
The City of Miami, last Thursday, voluntarily dismissed lawsuits against Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, in which the city alleged discriminatory practices under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) that indirectly harmed the city, resulting in lost property tax revenue and increased municipal expenses. The case had been pending before the Supreme Court.
NAFCU previously joined with several other financial industry trade organizations to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the lawsuits and request review of the federal appeals court decision on remand and argue a narrower approach to the right of access under the FHA's discrimination clause is needed to protect financial institutions from frivolous lawsuits.
Additionally, the amicus brief raised concerns regarding a municipality representing itself as an "aggrieved person" under the Fair Housing Act.
NAFCU has repeatedly highlighted that credit unions have not engaged in the illegal and discriminatory practices of banks, including redlining, because credit unions were established to offer provident credit to any member in their field of membership.
The association has also been a leading voice for housing finance reform efforts continuously advocating for the importance of maintaining credit unions' unfettered access to the secondary mortgage market and has engaged with FHFA Director Mark Calabria, other administration officials, and lawmakers.