The City of Oakland, California filed a federal lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank to recover damages caused by the bank’s predatory and discriminatory lending practices within the city.

The lawsuit charges Wells Fargo with targeting minority borrowers with predatory mortgage loan terms in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.

In a press release issued upon the filing of the action, Oakland City Attorney said, “Wells Fargo’s discriminatory conduct devastated individuals and communities, increasing poverty and wiping out or drastically reducing wealth for minority communities while bankers prospered.”

The lawsuit asks the Court to order Wells Fargo to cease its discriminatory practices and compensate the City of Oakland for financial harm that the foreclosure crisis caused the city. In addition to losing millions in tax revenues, which necessitated police layoffs and other cuts in city services, the bank’s predatory practices saddled the city and its taxpayers with massive costs in addressing blight, vandalism and crime associated with foreclosed properties.

Thousands of homes went into foreclosure and remain in poor condition costing cities significant sums of money due to the loss of property taxes and increased out-of-pocket expenditures to remedy the resulting blight throughout minority communities.

City Attorney Parker filed the lawsuit in federal court with outside counsel that includes CCL President Robert S. Peck, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California at Irvine School of Law, Yosef Peretz of Peretz & Associates, and Joel Liberson of Trial & Appellate Resources.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the cities of Los Angeles, Miami and Miami Gardens previously filed similar lawsuits against various banks. CCL is part of the legal team in the other municipal lawsuits.