Wells Fargo class action claims bank discriminates against racial minorities
A group of racial minority plaintiffs asked U . S . District Judge James Donato to certify several classes and subclasses in a class action against Wells Fargo over racial discrimination in the loan process .
The classes include all minority applicants who paid fees to have a mortgage loan application processed and were denied , those who were discriminated against in the home mortgage loan process , and those who received higher interest rates than white applicants .
The subclasses also include minority applicants for home loans , refinance , or home equity lines of credit who were initially approved but ultimately denied the loans due to Wells Fargo discrimination .
The plaintiffs accuse Wells Fargo of violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act , Fair Housing Act , California ’ s Unruh Civil Rights Act , and California ’ s Unfair Competition Law .
Consumers filed a trio of class action lawsuits in March against Wells Fargo over claims it charged customers unfair bad check fees , failed to notify them about overdraft fees , and enrolled them in unwanted financial and insurance products without their consent .
Hotels class action accuses Hilton , Wyndham , others of price-fixing
A new class action claims Hilton , Wyndham , and four other major hotel chains conspired to fix the prices of hotel room rentals nationwide .
A group of consumers claim Hilton and Wyndham conspired alongside Choice , Four Seasons , Omni and Hyatt to “ fix , raise , and stabilize hotel room rental price ,” in an alleged violation of Sherman Antitrust Act .
The group argues the hotel chains fixed prices by using a shared pricing algorithm developed by a North Carolina company ’ s revenue management system ( RMS ) and by other communications , interactions and “ signals to and with ” each other .
“ Consumers have been harmed as a result , paying higher prices for hotel rooms and losing important sources of competition ,” the hotels price-fixing class action says .
The group wants to represent a nationwide class of individuals and entities who have rented hotel guest rooms from the hotel chains in the relevant sub-markets from April 26 , 2020 , “ until the Defendants ’ unlawful conduct and its anticompetitive effects cease to persist .”
The group of consumers argues that the hotel chains agreed to provide RMS system provider iDeaS with non-public and sensitive price and occupancy information while knowing their “ horizontal competitors ” were also sharing the same information .
“ IDeaS plugs this confidential information into its algorithm and
generates supra-competitive pricing recommendations for each ( hotel chain ), which the ( hotel chains ) then implement in nearly every instance ,” the hotel ’ s price-fixing class action says .
The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and request injunctive relief along with an award of statutory treble damages , compensatory damages , and punitive damages for themselves and all class members .
Four states , D . C . file lawsuit against NCAA over alleged anti-competitive
NIL policies
Florida , New York , and Washington , D . C . joined Tennessee and Virginia in an antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) over its name , image and likeness ( NIL ) rules .
The states claim the NCAA violates the law by attempting to restrict athletes from exploring NIL deals before they have enrolled in a college .
“ It ’ s like a coach looking for a new job and freely talking to many different schools but being unable to negotiate salary until after he ’ s picked one ( the depressive effect on coaches ’ wages in such a dysfunctional market is obvious ),” the NCAA NIL lawsuit says .
U . S . District Judge Clifton L . Corker granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA NIL rules in February , preventing the NCAA from enforcing those rules before a full ruling in the case is determined .
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