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The MReport Webcast: Friday 6/26/2015

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday by a 5 to 4 vote in the case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs versus The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. that disparate impact claims can legally be brought about under the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The disparate impact issue has become a heated one in housing in the last few years, especially since the Obama Administration passed a rule allowing disparate impact claims – which are allegations made based on neutral practices that may have a discriminatory effect, under the Fair Housing Act in February 2013.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who often has the swing vote in Supreme Court cases that are divided between the Court's four liberal and four conservative justices, wrote the court's opinion on behalf of the majority. The case centers on allegations that low-income tax credits were awarded to real estate developers who own property in low-income minority dominated neighborhoods and denied to developers who own property in predominantly white neighborhoods.

For the first time, over 7,700 consumer complaints about problems they are facing with financial companies concerning mortgages, bank accounts, credit cards, and debt collection, among others, were released today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on their Consumer Complaint Database. The Bureau reported that as of June 1, 2015, it has handled more than 627,000 complaints.