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Case Name
Simms v. First Gibraltar Bank
FH-TX-0005
Docket / Court
4:91-cv-03367 ( S.D. Tex. )
State/Territory
Texas
Case Type(s)
Fair Housing/Lending/Insurance
Case Summary
Plaintiffs, residents of an apartment building, applied for a loan with Defendant-lender to convert their apartment building into a cooperative. Defendant rejected their loan application, purportedly because of liens on the property, but admitted to procedural irregularities in the handling of the ...
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Plaintiffs, residents of an apartment building, applied for a loan with Defendant-lender to convert their apartment building into a cooperative. Defendant rejected their loan application, purportedly because of liens on the property, but admitted to procedural irregularities in the handling of the application. Plaintiffs alleged that Defendant rejected their loan application because many of them were minorities, and Plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619.
After the District Court ruled against the Defendant-lender on the FHA violation, the Defendant appealed, and the Fifth Circuit reversed on May 31, 1996, in a panel opinion written by Circuit Judge E. Grady Jolly. Simms v. First Gibraltar Bank, 83 F.3d 1546 (5th Cir. 1996). The Fifth Circuit found that the Defendant-lender had provided sufficient nondiscriminatory reasons for rejecting the loan and that the procedural irregularities did not demonstrate that the race of the loan applicants was a substantial factor in the rejection of the application. Circuit Judge Emilio Garza concurred in the appellate panel's judgment without joining Judge Jolly's opinion; Judge Garza did not write separately to explain his decision.
The Fifth Circuit rejected the Plaintiff-Appellants' petition for rehearing on July 16, 1996. Simms v. First Gibraltar Bank, 95 F.3d 56 (5th Cir. 1996).
Andrew Nash - 06/02/2008
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Discrimination-area
Lending
Discrimination-basis
Race discrimination
General
Funding
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Race
Race, unspecified
Causes of Action
Fair Housing Act/Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601 et seq.
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Bank of America Texa
Bank of American NA of San Francisco
California and Bank of American Corporation
First Gibraltar Bank, FSB
Plaintiff Description
White landlord who alleged that bank refused to issue commitment letter to refinance existing loan of landlord's apartment complex in predominantly minority area.
Class action status sought
No
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
Yes
Prevailing Party
Defendant
Public Int. Lawyer
No
Nature of Relief
None
Source of Relief
None
Filed
11/15/1991
Case Closing Year
1997
Case Ongoing
No
Additional Resources
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Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
S.D. Tex.
01/16/1997
4:91-cv-03367
FH-TX-0005-9000.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
General Documents
S.D. Tex.
03/22/1994
Final Judgment
FH-TX-0005-0001.pdf
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Detail
S.D. Tex.
04/20/1994
Order
FH-TX-0005-0002.pdf
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Detail
U.S. Court of Appeals
05/31/1996
[Opinion]
(83 F.3d 1546)
FH-TX-0005-0004.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: Google Scholar
U.S. Court of Appeals
07/16/1996
[Order re:] Denials of Rehearing En Banc
(95 F.3d 56)
FH-TX-0005-0005.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
S.D. Tex.
08/01/1996
Final Judgment
FH-TX-0005-0003.pdf
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Detail
U.S. Supreme Court
12/16/1996
[cert. denied]
(519 U.S. 1041)
FH-TX-0005-0006.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: Westlaw
U.S. Supreme Court
02/18/1997
[Order Re: Denying Rehearing]
(519 U.S. 1143)
FH-TX-0005-0007.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: Westlaw
People
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Judges
Davis, W. Eugene
(W.D. La., Fifth Circuit)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
Garza, Emilio M.
(W.D. Tex., Fifth Circuit)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
Hoyt, Kenneth M.
(S.D. Tex.)
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FH-TX-0005-0001 | FH-TX-0005-0002 | FH-TX-0005-0003 | FH-TX-0005-9000
Jolly, E. Grady
(Fifth Circuit)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Hill, Raymond M.
(Texas)
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FH-TX-0005-0004 | FH-TX-0005-9000
Defendant's Lawyers
Freytag, Sharon N.
(Texas)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
Gibson, Laura
(Texas)
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FH-TX-0005-0004 | FH-TX-0005-9000
Keltner, David M.
(Texas)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
White, Bonnie J.
(Texas)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
Other Lawyers
Caruso, F. Willis
(Illinois)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
Haze, Ronald D.
(Illinois)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
Seng, Michael P.
(Illinois)
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FH-TX-0005-0004
Weinstock, Craig Louis
(Texas)
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FH-TX-0005-9000
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