Settlement Reached with Appraiser and Appraisal Management Company in Discrimination Complaints Alleging Race and National Origin Discrimination in Home Appraisal Process

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: 

Caroline Peattie, Executive Director, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
(415) 483-7552, [email protected]
​
Julia Howard-Gibbon, Supervising Attorney, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
(415) 483-483-7516 [email protected]

Settlement Reached with Appraiser and Appraisal Management Company in Discrimination Complaints Alleging Race and National Origin Discrimination in Home Appraisal Process

​San Rafael, CA – Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC), Ronald and Dominique Curtis, and the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) have reached a settlement with an appraisal management company (AMC) resolving a discrimination complaint filed with CRD alleging race and national origin discrimination in the home appraisal process. The settlement with the AMC was for an undisclosed amount and additional terms. The case against the appraiser was settled in November 2024. 

“We applaud CRD for its thorough investigation and are pleased to have reached settlements with the appraiser and AMC. ” said Caroline Peattie, Executive Director of FHANC. “We hope that the injunctive relief – that is, the non-monetary terms of the settlement – will have a positive impact on the appraisal industry and the community it serves.”

The AMC had been contracted to facilitate the order and delivery of an appraisal of the Curtises’ house in order to determine the value of the collateral for the loan.  The AMC contracted with a licensed real estate appraiser on an independent contractor basis to appraise the Curtises’ house.  The settlement was reached after FHANC and the Curtises filed a complaint with CRD in January 2022 pertaining to an appraisal on their Oakland home. 

The Curtises and FHANC are represented by FHANC counsel Julia Howard-Gibbon and Maria Callahan of FHANC as well as Yiyang Wu, Tara Ramchandani, and Valerie Comenencia Ortiz of Relman Colfax PLLC.

If you feel you may have been discriminated against in a recent home appraisal, contact FHANC’s office to complete an interview. Contact FHANC at [email protected] or 415-457-5025 x101. 

Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a non-profit organization serving several Bay Area counties that provides free counseling, enforcement, mediation, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information. Note: This material is based on work supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under FHIP PEI Grants FPEI190035 and FPEI220095. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of HUD. 

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