Saint-Jean et al. v. Emigrant Mortgage Co. & Emigrant Bank
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) prohibits discrimination with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction on the basis of race, color, national origin, and other prohibited bases. As courts have recognized for decades, targeting predatory or otherwise harmful products or practices to certain groups or neighborhoods on a prohibited basis violates ECOA.
The Bureau filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in support of a group of Plaintiffs who won a jury verdict against Emigrant Mortgage Company and Emigrant Bank for violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. For years, Emigrant had targeted Black and Latino borrowers and neighborhoods in New York City with predatory mortgage loans. The Bureau’s brief addresses three issues raised on appeal to explain why the jury verdict should be affirmed: (1) the timeliness of Plaintiff’s claims under the doctrine of equitable tolling, (2) the propriety of the district court’s jury instructions under ECOA, and (3) the public policy goals undermined by enforcing a waiver of claims in a loan modification agreement.