As co-counsel in a series of national class action lawsuits brought under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, NCLC has successfully attacked racially discriminatory lending practices in the used (and new) car business, with settlements valued at well over $100 million. The cases, which were filed against some of the nation’s largest auto finance companies and banks, charged that the defendants maintained policies which permit car dealers to "mark-up" the finance rates on loans based on subjective criteria unrelated to creditworthiness. This mark-up policy has had a disparate impact on African-American and Hispanic customers, who end up paying more for credit than whites with similar credit ratings. The lawsuits, which exposed practices that had operated secretly for over 75 years and had resulted in higher-interest rate car loans for minorities, have transformed car financing practices across the industry.
Baltimore v. Toyota Motor Credit Corp
Latest: As a result of a recent Court ruling, Toyota Motor Credit has been given until February 28, 2007 to send the claim forms to the class members and the deadline for class members to return the completed Claims Forms to the settlement administrator has been extended to April 16, 2007. Certificates of Credit or checks must be mailed to class members who filed timely, completed claim forms by May 31, 2007.
