This week, the Court clarifies the Fair Housing Act and Resource
Conservation Recovery Act.
CITY OF OAKLAND V. WELLS FARGO &
COMPANY
The en banc Court holds that Oakland failed to adequately plead
proximate cause under the Fair Housing Act ("FHA") for
its claims that allegedly discriminatory lending practices caused
lower tax revenues and increased municipal spending, and that the
FHA's proximate cause requirement applies to claims for
declaratory and injunctive relief.
En Banc Panel: Chief Judge Thomas and Judges
McKeown, Wardlaw, Paez, Callahan, Ikuta, Nguyen, Hurwitz, Nelson,
Bade, and VanDyke, with Judge McKeown writing the opinion.
Key Highlight: "The City of Oakland claims
that Wells Fargo's discriminatory lending practices caused
higher default rates, which in turn triggered higher foreclosure
rates that drove down the assessed value of properties, and which
ultimately resulted in lost property tax revenue and increased
municipal expenditures. These
