On August 19, 2019 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a rule to amend HUD’s interpretation of the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard contained in HUD’s existing regulation 24 C.F.R. Part 100. The proposed rule makes it more difficult for a plaintiff to bring a disparate impact case and also makes it more difficult for a plaintiff to recover punitive and exemplary damages.
The proposed rule is good news for lenders in that the number of disparate impact cases should decrease, as should the damages awarded in such cases. This is bad news for those who bring such cases.
Comments will be accepted until October 18, 2019.
A copy of the proposed rule is available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/19/2019-17542/huds-implementation-of-the-fair-housing-acts-disparate-impact-standard
