Judge dismisses Maryland appraisal discrimination case

“The Complaint itself contains fairly inflammatory statements that in the end, Plaintiffs failed to prove,” Gallagher’s judgment reads. “And Defendants have not shown that Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit in bad faith.”

Connolly and Mott sought to refinance their Maryland home in the summer of 2021, when mortgage rates were at historic lows. They claim to have paid $450,000 for the house in 2017 and made multiple improvements to the house along the way.

loanDepot approved their application at a “conservative” valuation of $550,000, but Lanham’s firm, which conducted the appraisal , valued the house at only $472,000.

Connolly, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who specializes in redlining and white supremacy, was suspicious and hired another appraiser seven…