>DaimlerChrysler Discrimination
Date Filed: February 3, 2003
Court: U.S. District Court
Location: Illinois
Ticker Symbol: DCX

Hagens Berman represented customers who were rejected financing by DaimlerChrysler's financing subsidiary, Chrysler Financial Company, in a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit accused the company of denying credit to customers in the Chicago area based on race and repossessing vehicles of customers living in predominantly black neighborhoods without justification or proper notification.

Updates:

September 8, 2005 - District Judge Mark Filip has given final approval to a settlement in the case.

February 25, 2004 - In a similar case in which two Chicago car dealerships are suing Chrysler over alleged redlining practices, Judge Wayne Andersen denied Chrysler's motion for summary judgment, striking down Chrysler Financial's arguments that it was not subject to the Automobile Dealers' Day in Court Act or the Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act.

In the past, Chrysler depended on these arguments to limit dealerships ability to seek redress for wrongs committed against dealerships. The ruling opens the door for suits from dealerships around the country.

January 28, 2004 - Two recently unsealed depositions from Chrysler executives give even more evidence that top Chrysler executives often used racial slurs and derogatory remarks and held racist attitudes that may have weighed in their decisions to finance cars.

 

March 25, 2003 - Attorneys expanded the proposed class-action lawsuit to include Hispanic car purchasers living near Chicago after other minorities came forward with similar experiences.

"Since we filed the original complaint against Chrysler earlier this month, we've learned of other areas in which we believe that Chrysler has thrown the switch on what Chrysler claims is a color-blind credit-rating system," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. "As we learn more about the case, it is becoming clear that Chrysler's actions in Chicago are not limited to one area, or one minority group."

March 10, 2003 - Hagens Berman released part of an internal manual showing that Chrysler has the ability to divert applications from its automated credit approval system, setting them aside for manual review. The existence of this disabling switch calls into question Chrysler's claims of a colorblind credit approval system.

Among other technical instructions regarding Chrysler's automated credit approval system, the document describes how to set Automated Decision Eligibility for a dealership. If this option is marked 'No,' all credit applications from a particular dealership will be diverted from the ACE system for manual review.

According to the suit, this diversion is the first step in Chrysler's redlining of predominately black neighborhoods.

For more information:

Current Complaint

Questions & Answers

Complete Information Kit

Summary Judgment Ruling

 

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