Sims v. New Penn Financial LLC

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-loan server’s motion for summary judgment in action under Equal Credit Opportunity Act, alleging that defendant discriminated against plaintiffs-home owners based on their race by failing to allow them to assume loan that prior owner of home had defaulted on, which placed said home in peril of being foreclosed on. Defendant explained that plaintiffs had failed to supply completed application to effectuate any loan assumption, and plaintiffs only evidence of race discrimination, i.e., statement by defendant’s employee to plaintiffs that “these people, you know how they treat us,” was too vague to support any claim that plaintiffs’ African American race motivated defendant to delay application process and to force them to satisfy prior owner’s outstanding loan payments. Moreover, plaintiffs’ prior satisfaction of prior owner’s overdue loan payments was consistent with applicable loan agreement.