CCL argued that a but-for standard is the appropriate requirement for proximate cause under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) in a brief filed in the Eleventh Circuit in the consolidated cases of City of Miami v. Bank of America Corp. and City of Miami v. Wells Fargo & Co. CCL represents Miami in this remand from the U.S. Supreme Court in a case argued by CCL President Robert S. Peck and decided a year ago.

     The Supreme Court held, 5-3, that Miami had standing to bring a private enforcement action under the Fair Housing Act, affirming the Eleventh Circuit's unanimous decision. However, it held that the Eleventh Circuit had relied upon too lenient a standard -- foreseeability alone -- in deciding whether Miami's injuries were legally caused by the Banks' discriminatory lending practices. It sent that issue back to the lower courts for a determination of the "contours" of the proximate cause requirement and what side of the line the City's injuries fell.

      The Eleventh Circuit ordered simultaneous briefing by the parties. CCL's brief on behalf of Miami argued that an Eleventh Circuit decision, as well as decisions under other federal statutes, supported the but-for approach, which holds causation to exist as long as the violation is a substantial or significant contributor to the injuries. It further argued that Congress had ratified the types of injuries that Miami claimed in its 1988 amendments to the FHA by endorsing the "broad holdings" of two cases that claimed damages indistinguishable from Miami's.

      The Eleventh Circuit will now decide whether to entertain oral argument on the issue.