Federal Court Advances Landmark Housing Discrimination Case Against Deutsche Bank, Ocwen, and Altisource to Trial

Federal Court Advances Landmark Housing Discrimination Case Against Deutsche Bank, Ocwen, and Altisource to Trial CHICAGO, IL – On April 1, 2025, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 19 fair housing organizations achieved a significant legal victory as a federal district court in Chicago denied the defendants’ motions for summary judgment in a critical 2018 housing discrimination lawsuit, National Fair Housing Alliance, et al. v. Deutsche Bank National Trust, et al.

This decision now paves the way for the lawsuit against Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Ocwen Financial Corp., and Altisource Portfolio Solutions, Inc. to proceed to trial. Plaintiffs allege that these defendants engaged in discriminatory practices by failing to uphold their duty to maintain and market foreclosed properties in Black and Latino neighborhoods to the same standards as those in predominantly white areas, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA).

The lawsuit, filed in February 2018 by NFHA and 19 fair housing organizations, builds on an extensive multi-year investigation starting in 2010 and continuing through 2017 in the wake of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Evidence summarized in the complaint reveals stark inequities. The investigation showed that homes in white neighborhoods were methodically maintained and marketed, while properties in Black and Latino neighborhoods were left in severe disrepair, contributing to safety hazards, declining property values, and worsening economic conditions in historically underserved communities. Plaintiffs presented expert evidence the Court has permitted to be presented at trial that these disparities in maintenance were attributable to neighborhood racial composition, not to non-racial factors, and that race played a statistically significant role in the differential treatment.

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