New Jersey case may upend home loan discrimination rules
The remaining structures form a patchwork amid vacant lots, where once there were row upon row of houses built for New Jersey’s returning World War II veterans and their growing families.
Some boarded-up homes have red signs tacked on the front saying “Owned by Mount Holly Township — NO TRESPASSING.” Others have signs, in the style of a real estate agent’s, that say “This House NOT For Sale.”
A fight between the government and residents of what remains of Mount Holly Gardens has now reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which may decide in the next several weeks whether to take up a case with nationwide implications for the housing industry. The court deferred action on the case today.
Civil rights advocates are battling the industry over whether the 1968 Fair Housing Act authorizes discrimination suits even without allegations of intentional bias. Lower courts have said suits can claim that a government policy or company lending practice has a discriminatory effect, known as “disparate impact,” even if that wasn’t the intent. (Doughety, Stohr and Dopp, Bloomberg)
