Fair Housing Clinic Files Supreme Court Brief

C|M|LAW’s Fair Housing Clinic submitted its merit brief for the respondent in  First American Financial Corporation v. Edwards, U.S. Supreme Ct. Case No. No. 10-708.   According to the brief:

“Congress enacted Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (“RESPA”), 12 U.S.C. § 2607, to protect homebuyers from the conflicts of interest that arise when a real estate professional accepts kickbacks for referrals—conflicts that tend to increase the cost and decrease the quality of settlement services. Congress prohibited the payment or receipt of kickbacks, id. § 2607(a), and authorized consumers to recover three times the settlement charge if they receive services in violation of that prohibition, id. § 2607(d)(2).

The question presented is:
Whether Section 8 of RESPA is a permissible exercise of Congress’s authority to enact “statutes creating legal rights, the invasion of which creates standing.” Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 578 (1992) (quotation marks omitted).

See our prior post on the case.