District Court Issues Summary Judgement for Treasury in Disparate Impact Case

A U.S. District Court today issued a summary judgement to dismiss a lawsuit by Inclusive Communities Project Inc. (ICP) against the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that alleged that the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program perpetuates racial segregation in Dallas. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division cited ICP’s lack of standing and the lack of merits for ICP’s claims in its 59-page decision. A 2015 lawsuit by ICP resulted in a Supreme Court decision that found that claims of disparate impact–practices that adversely affect a protected group, whether or not that was the intent–are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act, but that plaintiffs must prove that the defendant’s policies cause the disparity. There is no word on whether ICP will appeal the decision.