Magner v. Gallagher dismissed

February 10, 2012 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

SighMagner v. Gallagher, which was set to be argued by the US Supreme Court later this month, appears to have been dismissed.  Unfortunately, this means that the 8th Circuit decision, which invented a disparate impact claim under the Fair Housing Act out of whole cloth, is still good law.

PLF had filed an amicus brief (joined by the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Center for Equal Opportunity) arguing that the Fair Housing Act did not permit disparate impact claims.  Moreover, we reiterated our belief that disparate impact theory raises serious equal protection concerns.  Alas, it appears that we will now have to wait for another case before this important issue is resolved.