DOJ, Rocket Mortgage seek pause in fair housing case as potential settlement pursued

The Department of Justice (DOJ), Rocket Mortgage and other defendants are asking a federal court to pause discovery and pretrial deadlines in a 2024 Fair Housing Act case while the parties pursue a settlement conference.

A joint motion to stay and a joint motion for a settlement conference, both filed July 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, say the parties believe there is a “reasonable prospect of settlement” for all or part of the case and have jointly requested a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge Timothy P. O’Hara.

“The Parties believe that settlement conference/mediation with Magistrate Judge O’Hara is likely to facilitate partial or complete resolution of this case,” the filing reads.

The lawsuit, filed in October 2024, alleges that Rocket Mortgage, Solidifi U.S., Maverick Appraisal Group and appraiser Maksym Mykhailyna discriminated against a Black homeowner by undervaluing her Denver property during a 2021 mortgage refinance application.

The DOJ alleged the appraiser used comparable sales from more distant neighborhoods with larger Black populations while overlooking closer sales in predominantly white neighborhoods. The appraisal valued the home more than $200,000 below an appraisal completed less than a year earlier.

After the homeowner challenged the appraisal as discriminatory, Rocket allegedly canceled her refinance application. The homeowner later filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which found reasonable cause to conclude the defendants had violated the Fair Housing Act and referred the matter to the DOJ.

The DOJ’s complaint alleges discrimination based on race and color in connection with the refinance application. The homeowner’s intervenor complaint also alleges violations of the Fair Housing Act and Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act.

The case is now in discovery. The parties have exchanged documents, completed written discovery and taken 10 fact depositions. The DOJ and the homeowner also have provided expert disclosures.

Under the current schedule, the defendants’ expert disclosures are due Aug. 24, rebuttal disclosures are due Sept. 21 and discovery closes Oct. 20.

The motions ask the court to stay or extend the remaining discovery and pretrial deadlines until the settlement conference is completed. If the parties do not reach an agreement, they will jointly submit proposed revised deadlines within seven days of the conference.

The filings do not disclose the terms of any potential settlement or indicate that an agreement has been reached. Rocket did not provide a comment, and the DOJ did not respond to HousingWire‘s request for comment at the time of publication.