Filed Date: July 12, 2012
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
On July 12, 2012, the United States, on behalf of over 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers, filed a lawsuit under the Fair Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity Acts in the United States District Court, District of Columbia. Plaintiff, represented by attorneys from the United States Department of Justice, asked the court for injunctive and monetary relief, claiming that the discriminatory lending practices of Defendant adversely affected African American and Hispanic borrowers. Specifically, plaintiff claimed that during and between 2004 and 2009, defendant engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race and national origin in residential mortgage lending. Two other cases -- Baltimore v. Wells Fargo and Memphis v. Wells Fargo -- have made essentially equivalent allegations.
On September 21, 2012, the Court entered a consent order resolving plaintiff's claims. The settlement provided $125 million in compensation for wholesale borrowers who were steered into subprime mortgages or who paid higher fees and rates based on their race or national origin. Defendant also agreed to provide $50 million in direct down payment assistance to borrowers in certain areas of the country. Additionally, defendant agreed to conduct an internal review of its retail mortgage lending and to compensate borrowers who were given subprime loans based on their race or national origin, using an agreed upon statistical model and process.
On December 19, 2012, the United States filed a notice regarding additional monetary relief. As required by the consent order, defendant conducted its internal review to determine whether there were borrowers who could arguably have qualified for prime loans, but were nevertheless placed into subprime loans based on their race or national origin. As a result of the internal review, defendant identified 3,990 African American and Hispanic borrowers with subprime loans eligible for compensation. The parties agreed that this amounted to an average of $14,850 per borrower, and on December 13, 2012, defendant deposited a total of $59,251,500 in an escrow-bearing account and provided written verification of the deposit to the United States.
The order was to terminate after Wells Fargo submitted six semi-annual reports to the government, beginning immediately after the order was entered in 2012, and ending in September 2015. The order is assumed terminated, and the case closed.
Summary Authors
Gregory Pitt (7/16/2012)
Simran Takhar (4/4/2023)
City of Baltimore v. Wells Fargo, District of Maryland (2008)
City of Memphis v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Western District of Tennessee (2009)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4211616/parties/united-states-v-wells-fargo-bank-na/
Bates, John D. (District of Columbia)
Guzman, Javier M. (District of Columbia)
Longstreth, John (District of Columbia)
Morgan, Keith V. (District of Columbia)
Williams, Bart H. (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4211616/united-states-v-wells-fargo-bank-na/
Last updated Feb. 4, 2025, 11:17 p.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Fair Housing/Lending/Insurance
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: July 12, 2012
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
The United States on behalf of more than 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers.
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Wells Fargo Bank, Private Entity/Person
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Fair Housing Act/Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601 et seq.
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), 15 U.S.C. § 1691
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Content of Injunction:
Develop anti-discrimination policy
Implement complaint/dispute resolution process
Amount Defendant Pays: $175 million
Order Duration: 2012 - 2015
Issues
General/Misc.:
Discrimination Area:
Discrimination Basis:
National origin discrimination
Affected National Origin/Ethnicity(s):
Affected Race(s):