MIAMI (AP) – The city of Miami’s lawsuits claiming three major banks engaged in discriminatory mortgage lending practices for years will continue in federal court.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court judge was wrong to dismiss the lawsuits last year.
Miami is suing Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup for what it claims was discrimination in loans involving African-American and Hispanic borrowers.
One main claim is that the banks placed African-American and Hispanic people into higher-cost loans even if their credit was good, leading to a higher number of foreclosures. That in turn affected city tax collections and deteriorating neighborhoods.
Other cities have filed similar lawsuits, some of which have also been dismissed. The banks have denied Miami’s claims.
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