Huntington Bank Closing Accounts of Metro Detroit Arabs without Cause

[belleislerunner]

Interesting article yesterday how the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned mediator Judge Rosen's decision to allow the allegations to go forward that Huntington Bank engaged in ethnic discrimination against Metro Detroiters.

http://www.arabamericannews.com/news...9-closure.html

[Dan Wesson]

The bank probably got tired of the Federal Gov. pressure to file SARS. Suspicious Activities Reports.

There is a Central Bank and Government/LEO War on Cash being waged here and abroad.

[JBMcB]

The bank probably got tired of the Federal Gov. pressure to file SARS. Suspicious Activities Reports.

THIS. There are horror stories of stores who deal with a lot of cash having their savings confiscated because they happen to have a particularly good month.

Banks, in general, don't like tattling on their customers when the vast majority of them are doing nothing wrong.

[EastsideAl]

So, the real problem isn't discrimination by banks against Americans of a certain ethnicity, the real problem is ethnic discrimination by our own government.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

This has been happening to blacks for years, so what's all the fuss?

[wilderness]

Banks have become over-bearing [[even absurd), and generally speaking a real PITA, regardless of ethnicity. Before March of 2014 folks were allowed to deposit money [[even minimal amounts) into others accounts. In March of 2014 a Federal Banking law [[somehow related to money-laundering) changed all that. Try going to a sibling or childs bank that is different from your own [[with their account number in hand) and making a $10 deposit into their account! Bank transfers are the only current acceptable methods, and with a fee on each end.

[Dan Wesson]

So, the real problem isn't discrimination by banks against Americans of a certain ethnicity, the real problem is ethnic discrimination by our own government.

Banks have no problem taking your or anyone else's money. It becomes theirs to do what they want with anyway.

As far as the government law types. You can draw your own conclusions.

[wilderness]

Realize this a lame excuse, however 9-11-2001 changed most everything in the world.

[Gpwrangler]

There's not a whole lot of information in this news story, like most others.

[Danny]

Thanks to the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act of 2001. Every activity in America will be monitored from big corporations to the Boys and Girl Scouts. Huntington Bank did this monitoring of accounts of Arab Americans to find out if the sending their pledges to terrorist organizations. I comes to the point that Americans wanted more fortification of security the less freedom and liberty. So much for our free country.

[downtownguy]

There's not a whole lot of information in this news story, like most others.

I actually thought that was one of the better written news stories I've read recently. Certainly, more information than you can expect in a typical News or Freep story. Perhaps you weren't happy seeing an Arabic sounding name in the byline?

The writer gives the courts explanation of its decision in 3 paragraphs, provides a significant amount of background of what led up to the lawsuit, and provides some specific plaintiffs' complaints.

Seven hundred twenty-seven words. What more is there to add?

[G-DDT]

Disenfranchisement is the beginning of genocide. Genocide will also attempt to employ every angle and avenue to impose upon [[be it cultural, be it financial, be it legal systems) it's target. This is how businesses were taken away from Jews during Nazi Germany. Also, academics were being stripped of posts at universities [[especially in psychiatry, which the troubled Bruno Bettelheim wrote about in "The Informed Heart"-wish I can remember the other book I came across at the U of W Student Library addressing the purges in universities-in fact, psychiatry played a big part in discrediting and removing folks from their positions-the best I can stir up were these linkshttp://jbuff.com/c013102.htm alsohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univer...n_Nazi_Germany).

When one reads the Press & Guide here, various stories pop up about how Arab Americans in Dearborn Heights are being harassed and discriminated by neighbors, cops, certain voting stations, witnessing attacks at Kroger's that get written off, and of course, letting hateful out-of-town jerks pretending to be Christian have their way and strip them of their own festival.

"Sharia Law" my arse.

[BankruptcyGuy]

This case is at a common stage for civil rights violations and similar complaints. US law permits what is called "notice pleading;" that is, if the allegations in the complaint give the defendant notice of what the legal violations or underlying facts are, then the case is not dismissed on its face. Some states require what's called "fact pleading" or "pleading with specificity" where more is required. The 6th Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs' third attempt at a complaint complied with that standard.

Huntington hasn't even filed an Answer yet. The Answer is the response to the Complaint, where the defendant affirms or denies the facts in the Complaint, and raises Affirmative Defenses. I haven't seen the 2nd Amended Complaint, just the original one, and it has this claim:

"Plaintiffs engaged in no illegal activity involving any of their accounts at any point."

Huntington, however, will likely respond with either "that's not true, here's the illegal activity" or "maybe not, but here's the activity that we called into question."

I think the Plaintiffs are kind of hoping for a quick settlement. I'm guessing that Huntington will be allowed to depose each of the class Plaintiffs, put them under oath, and ask them about the activity that is suspicious. They can probably subpoena tax returns, financial statements, sales tax payment records, etc. I'm not sure how far the plaintiffs are going to be willing to go in that instance.

[Gpwrangler]

I actually thought that was one of the better written news stories I've read recently. Certainly, more information than you can expect in a typical News or Freep story. Perhaps you weren't happy seeing an Arabic sounding name in the byline?

The writer gives the courts explanation of its decision in 3 paragraphs, provides a significant amount of background of what led up to the lawsuit, and provides some specific plaintiffs' complaints.

Seven hundred twenty-seven words. What more is there to add?

Nice try. I guess I was hoping to see more about the reason for the account closures. Maybe a statement from Huntington. I should know better than to expect that from the media.

[archfan]

Nice try. I guess I was hoping to see more about the reason for the account closures. Maybe a statement from Huntington. I should know better than to expect that from the media.

They probably asked Huntington, and they followed the standard playbook for companies with a lawsuit:

1. When asked for a statement by media - silence
2. When pressed hard for a statement by media - see #1
3. When public outcry forces a statement - give a carefully crafted statement that says nothing that is actionable

[JBMcB]

1. When asked for a statement by media - silence
2. When pressed hard for a statement by media - see #1
3. When public outcry forces a statement - give a carefully crafted statement that says nothing that is actionable

If it's a government monitoring program involved in the account closures, Huntington may be barred from saying anything.

It could also be a complete internal screw-up too, of course.

[Gpwrangler]

If it's a government monitoring program involved in the account closures, Huntington may be barred from saying anything.

It could also be a complete internal screw-up too, of course.

Everythings a fucking conspiracy on this board.

[G-DDT]

If you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention.

[BankruptcyGuy]

They probably asked Huntington, and they followed the standard playbook for companies with a lawsuit:

1. When asked for a statement by media - silence
2. When pressed hard for a statement by media - see #1
3. When public outcry forces a statement - give a carefully crafted statement that says nothing that is actionable

Considering they haven't even filed an answer to the complaint, yes, they will say nothing. The real question is, if the case is thrown out [[which it has been, twice), will there be any media coverage at all.

"Bank is discriminating against customers" -- news
"Bank is not discriminating against customers" -- not news

[G-DDT]

I seem to remember Century 21 got into some hot water a time back for discrimination http://business-humanrights.org/en/u...ing-applicantsand racial steeringhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_steering. I'm betting there's an old thread kicking around in the archives here somewhere.

[EastsideAl]

"Bank is discriminating against customers" -- news
"Bank is not discriminating against customers" -- not news

"Bank is discriminating against customers, but courts refuse to stop it" -- not news, but should be

[G-DDT]

"Sharia Law" my arse.

Looking back on that last line I wrote, and given the full scope of what Sharia Law is [[in it's professed entirety), I don't wish to be misunderstood. I'm only expressing how fed-up I am with the Fox News mentality [[that I witness from everything from idiotic comments from other folks who don't live within hundreds of miles from here posting on other forum sites aaallll the way to idiotic comments coming from my own anti-Islamic uncle) that assumes Muslims have overrun and taken control of Dearborn, when quite the opposite is evident to me here.

[Gistok]

I have a Huntington Bank account.... and they just did something shocking.... they put $75 into my checking account for two overdraft charge refunds.... sent me a letter that they did so. I haven't had an overdraft in almost 2 years... so that was a surprise...

[BankruptcyGuy]

I think this is probably pretty close to the story here:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/account-...ers-1439419093