Wells Fargo denies accusation of racism in its judge transfer request

Wells Fargo traded barbs with attorneys for plaintiffs in a discrimination suit against the bank, rebuking a new accusation of racism stemming from a procedural move.

The public statements come after Wells Fargo’s request this week to reassign the class action lawsuit to another federal judge. The complaint accuses the lender of “modern-day redlining” tactics in handling Black homeowners’ refinance applications.

The bank’s petition to move the case from Magistrate Judge Kandis Westmore, who is Black, to Article III District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who is White, is Wells Fargo’s attempt to “redline the federal court,” the legal team for lead plaintiff Aaron Braxton said in a statement.

“Wells Fargo’s rejection of the handling of a discrimination class action case by a Black female judge reeks of racism,” said Trent Copeland, partner at Ellis George Cipollone, the law firm representing the plaintiffs, in a statement Wednesday.

Magistrate judges are tasked with overseeing pretrial motions and hearings, according to the U.S. Courts, while district court judges supervise the pretrial and trial processes.

Wells Fargo slammed the accusation in a statement Thursday, and noted the law firm had declined Westmore’s jurisdiction in a different, unnamed case in February 2021, “presumably for procedural reasons,” it added.

“These allegations are offensive and patently ridiculous,” the company’s statement said. “Wells Fargo has simply exercised its option to place this matter of great significance before an Article III District Court Judge, as is customary in nationwide class actions.”

The bank is facing two class action lawsuits alleging that it stalled or rejected more mortgage refis for Black homeowners than white homeowners and that it charged Black borrowers higher rates than whites. The complaints amended this month cite a March Bloomberg report highlighting the discrepancies in refis between Black and White homeowners.

High-profile figures including a Hollywood film executive, the wife of an NCAA Division I football coach and Ben Crump, attorney for police violence victims George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, joined the lawsuits last week. The bank is also facing blowback from senators calling for an investigation and New York City officials, who announced that the city would not open new depository accounts with the bank because of the claims.

The bank has repeatedly emphasized its lending bona fides to the Black community, claiming it was the largest bank lender for mortgages to Black families in 2020 and over the past decade. Wells also recently announced a $210 million commitment to help minority homeowners, which it said was not a response to the lawsuits or New York City, and has rejected the discriminatory claims as meritless.