Memphis-Area Victims Of High Cost Home Improvement Loans Reach Legal Settlement

In Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis Commercial Appeal reports on a story on Equity Title, a now-defunct local title & escrow company that reportedly specialized in closing high-fee, high-interest mortgages, most marketed to the African-American community. The company, in which a local law firm reportedly owned an indirect 50% interest in it, and a number of alleged predatory lenders became the targets of lawsuits claiming unfair practices. An excerpt from the story:

• Memphis Area Legal Services, representing 17 Memphians against Equity Title and a host of other alleged predatory lenders, alleged in federal court that Equity Title deceived loan applicants by piling on charges and backdating closing documents, among other claims.

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• The last of the plaintiffs settled their claims out of court in June. Hawkins and the others received a settlement of $1.3 million in money damages and $1.7 million in mortgage restructuring. As a result of that lawsuit and others, Equity Title has gone out of business.

For more, see Predatory Lending: Boom and Bust (Clients fought back over subprime loans; Firm targeted high-cost notes to black borrowers).

Go here and go here for other posts on alleged race bias in real estate transactions. race bias predatory lending