(Bloomberg) — The U.S. Supreme Court said people who file housing-discrimination suits don't have to show they were victims of intentional bias, in a blow to lenders and insurers and a surprise legal victory for the Obama administration.
The 5-4 ruling upholds a category of U.S. Fair Housing Act lawsuits that civil rights groups said are especially important — and business groups consider particularly onerous. The court said plaintiffs can base their suits at least in part on statistical evidence that a disputed policy has a "disparate impact" on a minority group.
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