City Of Memphis Joins Shelby County; Gives Go-Ahead For Discrimination Suit Targeting Major Home Lenders

In Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

• City Council members on Tuesday approved a resolution authorizing the city to file suit against national lenders who they say created a foreclosure crisis in Memphis and Shelby County that disproportionately affected African-Americans.

• The resolution alleges lenders engaged in "deceptive" and "discriminatory" lending practices targeted at the black community and "other select groups" that caused "substantial" and "irreparable" harm to neighborhoods and the governments.

• The Shelby County Commission recently approved a similar resolution (see Shelby commissioners authorize lawsuits against mortgage lenders), claiming the foreclosure epidemic has devastated neighborhoods, slashed property values, eroded the tax base and drained local government coffers because of a host of direct and indirect costs.

• "They have caused property values to plummet," said Webb Brewer from Memphis Area Legal Services, which is working with the city and county on the lawsuit. "As the property values go down, the property taxes go down. There are a lot of increased costs, like police and fire protection."

For more, see Council says OK to city lawsuit (Resolution alleges lenders targeted black community).

Go here, Go here, and Go here for other posts on alleged discrimination in real estate transactions. DiscriminationPredatoryLendingAlpha