Cook County sues Wells Fargo over lending practices

Cook County has filed a federal lawsuit against a third mortgage lender, alleging that unfair, predatory lending and loan serving practices, particularly in minority communities, violated the Fair Housing Act.

The suit, filed against Wells Fargo on Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, is similar to others brought in late March against HSBC, Bank of America and its subsidiaries Countrywide and Merrill Lynch. In November, a federal judge in Los Angeles denied a motion by JPMorgan Chase to dismiss a similar lawsuit. Attorneys for Cook County recently made the court here aware of that ruling…Please click here to read Mary Ellen Podmolik’s story in the Tribune. Related stories can be found in Bloomberg News, CBS Chicago and Chicago Sun Times.