Judge: Ford Motor Co Affiliates Overcharged Blacks on Car Loans
Sunday, March 20, 2005 at 10:00AM
TheSpook
A
federal judge said Wednesday the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit
had proved a lending affiliate of the Ford Motor Co. discriminated
against black customers by charging them higher rates on car loans.
After a two-week trial, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger said she
would rule against Primus Automotive Financial Services, a unit of the
Ford Motor Credit Corp., but first would give the two sides 30 days to
negotiate a settlement to end the discrimination. "What I have decided
is that the plaintiffs have proved their case and that they will win in
my decision," Trauger said. The lawsuit lists 11 named plaintiffs, but
attorneys said thousands of black customers were discriminated against
and are included in the class. Attorneys said the customers were
unfairly charged hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they should
have been on car loans. The plaintiffs sought an end to discriminatory
practices rather than damages, but Primus must pay attorney fees.
Primus spokeswoman Meredith Libbey said the company disagreed with the
judge's conclusions. "We uphold the highest standards of fair lending,"
Libbey said in a statement. Lead plaintiff lawyer Clint Watkins said he
was pleased, and that "We look forward to working with Ford Motor
Credit on a solution." Ford Motor Credit also offers car loans under
several other brands, including Jaguar Credit, Volvo Car Finance, Mazda
American Credit and Land Rover Capital Group. [more]
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