Black Couple Can Refile Bias Suit Against Lender

SANTA ANA — A couple who claim they were denied a loan for a house they were trying to buy in Coto de Caza because they are black can refile a racial discrimination lawsuit against the lending company, an appeals court said in a ruling released Thursday.

George and Elizabeth Green initially won an $80,000 jury verdict in the case in July, 1990, despite the jury’s finding that racial discrimination was not a factor in the lender’s denial of a loan to the couple.

The mortgage company had maintained during the trial that the Greens’ poor credit history and insufficient income were the reasons no loan could be obtained. The couple had applied for a loan in May, 1989.

Because of the jury’s finding, the judge who presided over the four-week trial dismissed the award and ordered a new trial that would focus on the lending company’s alleged “professional negligence,” not racial discrimination. The judge later refused to allow a retrial because the Greens did not comply with pretrial procedural matters.

The Greens appealed that ruling.

The 4th District Court of Appeal’s decision permits the racial discrimination lawsuit to be refiled but dismisses one of the defendants in the case, J.M. Peters Co. Inc., which was the developer of the Coto de Caza home. The sole defendant is the Rancho Santa Margarita Mortgage Co.

“I’m disappointed,” said Elizabeth Green of the appellate decision. “The Rancho Santa Margarita Mortgage Co. was only doing what the J.M. Peters Co. instructed them to do. . . . The real people responsible for our pain got off scot-free.”

An attorney for the mortgage company said he too was “disappointed with the opinion.”

Attorney Robert L. Green, no relation to the couple, said the lower-court judge correctly ruled that there was no racial discrimination behind the lending company’s denial of the Green’s loan application.

“Racial discrimination is a very serious charge in this day and age,” Robert Green said. “My client is not even remotely guilty.”

According to the Greens’ attorney, Walter Greene Jr., the couple both work as registered nurses, earn nearly $17,000 a month together and were fully qualified for a real estate loan.

Elizabeth Green said that she and her husband later bought a house from a private party in the same Coto de Caza neighborhood but are still upset by their ordeal.

“What can you expect in Orange County?” she said. “It’s still very, very racist in parts.”