On April 1, 2025, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 19 fair housing organizations achieved a significant legal victory as a federal district court in Chicago denied the defendants’ motions for summary judgment in a critical 2018 housing discrimination lawsuit, National Fair Housing Alliance, et al. v. Deutsche Bank National Trust, et al. This decision now paves the way for the lawsuit against Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Ocwen Financial Corp., and Altisource Portfolio Solutions, Inc. to proceed to trial. Plaintiffs allege that these defendants engaged in discriminatory practices by failing to uphold their duty to maintain and market foreclosed properties in Black and Latino neighborhoods to the same standards as those in predominantly white areas, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA).
The lawsuit, filed in 2018 by NFHA and 19 other fair housing organizations, builds on an extensive 2010-2017 investigation in the wake of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Evidence in the complaint shows stark inequities. The investigation found that homes in white neighborhoods were methodically maintained and marketed, while properties in Black and Latino neighborhoods were left in severe disrepair, contributing to safety hazards, declining property values, and worsening economic conditions in historically underserved communities. Plaintiffs presented evidence the Court has permitted to be presented at trial that these disparities in maintenance were attributable to neighborhood racial composition, not to non-racial factors, and that race played a statistically significant role in the differential treatment.
The over-120 page ruling, delivered by U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah, (N.D. Illinois) allows Plaintiffs’ disparate treatment and disparate impact claims to move forward against all defendants. The Court cited evidence of mortgage servicers Ocwen and Altisource abdicating their obligations to maintain properties, and a host of policies that may be shown at trial to cause negative outcomes in communities of color, compared to other neighborhoods. The Court held that trustees like Deutsche Bank can be held liable under the FHA for the discriminatory activities of their mortgage servicers. Judge Shah also recognized that plaintiffs had established sufficient standing to pursue the FHA case in federal court, finding that the critical services that plaintiffs offer were “sufficient to demonstrate that defendants’ REO conduct perceptibly impaired the organizations’ core activities.”
“This is a pivotal decision - not only for NFHA and our partners but for underserved communities across the country that have long endured neglect and inequitable treatment,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of NFHA. “This case isn’t just about holding Deutsche Bank, Ocwen, and Altisource accountable. It’s about beginning to repair some of the harm that continues to ripple through communities as a result of discriminatory housing practices. This decision carries the promise of hope for neighborhoods that were disproportionately targeted for predatory loans and negatively impacted by the foreclosure crisis. It’s a clear step forward in the fight for equity and justice.” Plaintiffs are represented by Soule, Bradtke & Lambert, Relman Colfax PLLC, and the Dane Law Firm.
Deutsche Bank in June 2013 settled a lawsuit with the city of Los Angeles for $10 million after it was accused of allowing hundreds of foreclosed properties under its ownership to fall into slum conditions, leading to the destabilization of whole communities.
The full order can be viewed here.
