Top Court Allows Disparate Impact Claims Under Housing Act; Desegregation Tool Saved

The Fair Housing Act allows disparate impact claims of racial discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 25, acknowledging the law’s “role in moving the Nation toward a more integrated society” (Tex. Dep’t of Hous. v. Inclusive Cmtys. Project, 2015 BL 203075, U.S., 13-1371, 6/25/15).

The 5-4 decision by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy “very firmly upholds the existing disparate impact standard” upheld by all 11 federal circuits to have considered the question, Rachel Goodman, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, New York, told Bloomberg BNA June 25. The ACLU filed an amicus curiae brief in support ...