The court of appeals reversed a judgment. The court held that a plaintiff’s claim of disparate impact race discrimination in the provision of homeowners’ insurance was not reverse-preempted by federal law absent evidence that state insurance law diverged from the Federal Housing Act by encouraging unlawful racial distinctions.
Patrick Ojo brought a class action against Farmers Group, Inc. and related parties (Farmers). Ojo alleged disparate impact race discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Ojo, an African-American resident of Houston, Texas, alleged that Farmers used “a number of undisclosed factors” to compute credit scores and price homeowners’ insurance policies. As a result, Ojo argued, Farmers charged minorities higher premiums for homeowners’ property and casualty insurance than the premiums charged to similarly situated Caucasians.
