Real Estate
Home›Real Estate›Residential›Rocket Mortgage, DOJ seek pause in Fair Housing Act ca…
Rocket Mortgage, DOJ seek pause in Fair Housing Act case tied to appraisal
The parties asked a Colorado federal court to pause discovery and pretrial deadlines while pursuing a settlement conference, with expert disclosures scheduled to shift under the current timetable.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Rocket Mortgage asked a Colorado federal court to stay remaining discovery and pretrial deadlines in a Fair Housing Act case while they pursue a settlement conference, according to HousingWire.
The lawsuit, filed in October 2024, alleges discriminatory undervaluation of a Black homeowner’s Denver property during a 2021 refinance application. It targets Rocket Mortgage, Solidifi U.S., Maverick Appraisal Group, and appraiser Maksym Mykhailyna.
HousingWire reports that the complaint says the appraisal valued the home more than $200,000 below an appraisal completed less than a year earlier, and that the appraiser allegedly used comparable sales from more distant neighborhoods with larger Black populations while overlooking closer sales in predominantly white neighborhoods.
The record says the parties believe there is a reasonable prospect of settlement and requested a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge Timothy P. O’Hara. Under the current schedule, defendants’ expert disclosures are due Aug. 24, rebuttal disclosures are due Sept. 21, and discovery closes Oct. 20.