Case Index - Closed Cases

Auto Finance Discrimination

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.

• Smith v. Daimler Chrysler Financial
  Settlement Notice (English  & Spanish)
  Notice of Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Settlement
  (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, Exhibit D, Exhibit E, Exhibit F, Exhibit G, Exhibit H)
  Court Order
  Frequently Asked Questions (English and Spanish)
  
  
• Baltimore v. Toyota Motor Credit Corp
  The Settlement Agreement and Amendment to Settlement Agreement
  Frequently Asked Questions (English and Spanish)
  
  
• FMCC (Joyce Jones, et al. v. Ford Motor Credit Company)
  Settlement Agreement
  Frequently Asked Questions (English and Spanish)
  Preliminary Report on the Racial Impact of FMCC's Finance Charge Markup Policy
  
  
• GMAC (Coleman v. General Motors Acceptance Corporation)
  Settlement Agreement
  Frequently Asked Questions
  Executive Summary of the Settlement
  Press Release
  ACUERDO DE RESOLUCIÓN
  PREGUNTAS FRECUENTES
  Resumen del Acuerdo de Resolución
  
  
• NMAC (Cason v. Nissan Motors Acceptance Corporation)
  Press Release (English and Spanish) of the Settlement Agreement
  Outline of the Settlement Agreement (English and Spanish)
  Frequently Asked Questions (English and Spanish)
  
  
• AHFC (Terry Willis, et al v. American Honda Finance Corporation)
  Settlement Agreement
  Expert Report on the Racial Impact of AHFC's Finance Charge Markup Policy (Mark A. Cohen, Ph.D.)
  Appendix D: Top Dollar and Percentage Point Markups
  Appendix E: Top 100 Dollar Markups by State
  Appendix F: Top 100 Percentage Point Markups by State
  Expert Report of Ian Ayers
  
  
• Borlay v. Primus Automotive Financial Services, Inc. and Ford Motor Credit Company
  Frequently Asked Questions
  
  

Private Child Support Collection Agencies

• Zipperer v. Supportkids, Inc. (Complaint and Court Decision and Order)

RAL Cross Lender Debt Collection

• Order After Hearing: Preliminary Approval of Class Settlement
  
• Settlement Agreement
  
• FAQ
  
• Press Release (March 18, 2003)
• Hood v. Santa Barbara Bank & Trust Complaint

Military Pensions

• Amos v. Advanced Funding, Inc. et al Complaint