April 2016 Volume 16, Issue 4
Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker 
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I am very pleased to report that the federal district court denied Wells Fargo's motion to dismiss Oakland's Fair Housing Act lawsuit against the bank for racially discriminatory mortgage lending practices. This is a significant victory for the people of Oakland as our case will proceed.

This case is important for Oakland because the evidence shows that Wells Fargo systematically issued higher risk and more expensive loans to African American and Hispanic borrowers, even though they qualified for more favorable loans that the bank routinely gave to white borrowers. The resulting foreclosure crisis caused great financial harm to the City and its residents. 
 
We provide more details about the lawsuit below.
 
Also in this month's newsletter: A positive result in a case regarding an illegal wedding venue that was a major nuisance for neighbors, and the National Black Lawyers organization naming me as one of the Top 100 Black Lawyers.  
 
As always, I look forward to your questions and comments about the work we are doing on behalf of the people of Oakland.
 
 
 Barbara J. Parker
 Oakland City Attorney
 
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Court denies Wells Fargo's motion to dismiss Oakland's lawsuit against the bank for racially discriminatory mortgage lending practices 
     
Our lawsuit against Wells Fargo for racially discriminatory mortgage lending practices cleared a major hurdle this month when the Court denied a motion by the bank to dismiss the case. 

U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen's ruling allows Oakland to proceed with our lawsuit against Wells Fargo for targeting African American and Hispanic borrowers, including minority churches and congregations, for predatory mortgage loans in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act. 

I filed the lawsuit in September to recover damages caused by the bank's illegal and unconscionable lending practices in Oakland.

We intend to prove that Wells Fargo, the nation's largest mortgage lender, systematically issued more expensive and higher risk loans to minority borrowers even though they qualified for more favorable loans that the bank regularly issued to white borrowers.
 
For example, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 2007 a typical African American borrower in Chicago seeking a $300,000 loan from Wells Fargo paid nearly $3,000 more in fees than a similarly qualified white applicant.

In Oakland we know the devastating damage banks' targeting of minority borrowers for predatory loans has caused.

Thousands of our residents lost their homes due to foreclosure. In addition to losing millions in tax revenues, which necessitated police layoffs and cuts in vital City services such as parks, library services and street and sidewalk maintenance, the bank's predatory actions saddled the City and its taxpayers with the massive costs of addressing blight, vandalism and crime associated with foreclosed properties.
 
As I stated when we filed the case, Wells Fargo's discriminatory conduct devastated individuals and communities, increasing poverty and wiping out or drastically reducing wealth for minority communities while bankers prospered.
 
Wells Fargo and other banks knew when they issued predatory loans that many of them would result in foreclosure. None of the responsible bankers have been held personally accountable in any meaningful manner, and the leaders of these institutions earned millions of dollars generated in part by issuing toxic loans to minorities.
 
Los Angeles is appealing the dismissal of its lawsuit against Wells Fargo which was filed on the same grounds as our case.  So Judge Chen's ruling was an important win for Oakland. It affirms that the City has the right to proceed with this important case. 
 
We note that although the Los Angeles lawsuit was dismissed, a federal appeals court in Florida recently ruled that cities in that state were able to sue a different bank under the Fair Housing Act. And Wells Fargo has agreed to settlements of hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve discriminatory lending actions by the cities of Memphis and Baltimore and the U.S. Department of Justice. 
 
Wells Fargo, one of the most powerful companies on our planet, must be held accountable for its destructive, reckless and discriminatory actions. I will keep you updated about our progress in future newsletters.

More info
 
Updates on Major Cases 
 
1001 Panoramic Way Code Enforcement Case

My Office recently obtained a very favorable outcome in a code enforcement case against the owner of a massive, scenic home in the North Oakland hills who was holding weddings and other events at his property in violation of the law.

Neighbors of the estate with the James Bond-sounding name of "Skyfall" located above the UC Berkeley campus complained for years about the noise from the wedding DJs, traffic on the narrow streets and potential fire hazards in a neighborhood that the 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm barely missed, according to reporting by the Oakland Tribune.

The City declared the events a public nuisance and ordered the owner, David "Sandy" Boyd, to stop holding weddings and other commercial activities at the property, which is zoned residential. 

The case received a lot of attention in the press in part because of the history of bad blood between neighbors and Boyd, the former owner of the now-bankrupt Fresh Choice chain of restaurants, and the owner of multiple properties in Oakland and Berkeley. In 1997, Boyd bulldozed a dirt road through private and public property without permits or consent from property owners. A neighbor sued and won $250,000.

Despite the City's order and a 2014 hearing decision, Boyd continued to advertise and rent the property for weddings and events. He appealed the City's order to stop using the property as a wedding venue, and in March a hearing officer ruled in favor of the City and ordered Boyd to pay a fine of $103,529. To appeal the decision, Boyd would have to file a lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court.

Boyd also owes the City more than $100,000 for failing to pay business taxes for the commercial activity at the property.

This is an excellent outcome for the City and for neighbors. I want to recognize and thank Deputy City Attorney Elias Ferran for his work on this case.

City Attorney in the Community

I was honored this month to be recognized as a Top 100 Black Lawyer by the National Black Lawyers -- Top 100 organization.

National Black Lawyers -- Top 100 is an invitation-only professional honorary organization whose mission is to promote excellence in the legal profession through advocacy training, marketing, networking and education of lawyers.

The organization offers membership to attorneys who promote diversity in the legal profession and exemplify superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence and performance in their area of legal practice.

I have worked diligently to promote and maintain diversity in the Office of the City Attorney and the legal profession, and I greatly appreciate this recognition.


Phone: (510) 238-3601

Email: info@oaklandcityattorney.org

 

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