Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case, urging the nation’s highest court to grant broad powers to the agencies enforcing the Fair Housing Act by allowing "disparate impact" claims to guide their decisions.
A "disparate impact" is when an apparently neutral business or government policy in practice causes more harm to a particular ethnic, racial or other protected class of people than it does to the population at large. In a case now before the Supreme Court, Township of Mount Holly v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action Inc., a group of minority residents sued their town, alleging that the township’s redevelopment plan was unfairly pushing them from their homes. A Supreme Court decision in favor of the town could make it much more difficult for Fair Housing advocates or attorneys general to bring claims under the federal Fair Housing Act.
Coakley’s brief argues that individuals and businesses involved in the renting or selling of homes and other real estate transactions must be held accountable for the discriminatory effects of their policies and practices, pointing to several cases she has successfully prosecuted against subprime lenders as examples of the need to allow disparate impact claims. The brief was joined by 11 states including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington.
"Disparate impact claims are an important tool used to eliminate discrimination in the housing market, one of the primary principles of the Fair Housing Act," Coakley said in a statement. "The court has already recognized disparate impact claims under many civil rights statutes, and we urge the court to do the same with the FHA."
The case is scheduled for argument on Dec. 4. However, the two sides are currently pursuing settlement talks. If a settlement is reached before arguments begin, the Supreme Court will not rule on the matter.
In January 2012, Coakley filed a similar brief with the U.S Supreme Court in the case of Magner v. Gallagher, which was ultimately dismissed before being heard.
