Crestar Bank v. Driggs

Decision Date03 March 1993
Docket NumberNo. 93-1036,93-1036
Citation1993 WL 198187,995 F.2d 1062
PartiesNOTICE: Fourth Circuit I.O.P. 36.6 states that citation of unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Fourth Circuit. CRESTAR BANK, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jeffrey M. DRIGGS; Kimberlee H. Driggs, Defendants-Appellants. . Argued:
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Walter E. Black, Jr., Chief District Judge. (CA-91-3013-B)

Argued: Paul A. Kaplan, David & Hagner, P.C., Washington, D.C., for Appellants.

Thomas Page Lloyd, Piper & Marbury, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

On Brief: David R. Kuney, David B. Bullington, David & Hagner, P.C., Washington, D.C., for Appellants.

Richard M. Kremen, Piper & Marbury, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

D.Md.

AFFIRMED.

Before ERVIN, Chief Judge, PHILLIPS, Circuit Judge, and HILL, Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, sitting by designation.

PER CURIAM:

Appellants Jeffrey and Kimberlee Driggs ("the Driggs") contend that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff-Appellee Crestar Bank. The bank sued the Driggs for a deficiency judgment on a defaulted real estate acquisition loan, and the Driggs asserted in defense a claim under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), 15 U.S.C. § 1691 (West 1982, 1993 Supp). * Specifically, the Driggs claimed that Crestar Bank discriminated against Jeffrey Driggs on the basis of his marital status by requiring that his wife, Kimberlee, assume liability on the loan instrument. The Driggs also claim that the court erred in declining to offset the deficiency award by the fair market value of the property purchased with the loan, rather than by the foreclosure sale price of that property.

To prevail on a discrimination claim under the ECOA, a plaintiff must show that a creditor discriminated on the basis of marital status. 15 USC § 1691(a)(1). We are instructed to analyze ECOA claims like other discrimination claims, see Craigin v. First Federal S & L Ass'n, 498 F. Supp. 379, 384 (D. Nev. 1980), citing 1976 US Code Cong. & Admin. News pp. 403-406 (suggesting that cases such as Griggs v. Duke Power Company, 401 U.S. 424 (1971), and Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405 (1975), should serve as guides for application of the ECOA). Thus, if the plaintiff presents a prima facie case of discrimination, the burden switches to the defendant to demonstrate non-discriminatory reasons for the challenged action and the plaintiff then has an opportunity to demonstrate that the defendant's reasons were pretextual. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 800-05 (1973). The district court in the instant case found that the Driggs had "not brought forth one piece of evidence" of discrimination and found that, even had Jeffrey Driggs stated a prima facie case under ECOA, Crestar Bank offered credible, nondiscriminatory reasons for requiring Kimberlee to sign onto the loan note. CA-91-3013, Hearing on Summary Judgment Motion, May 8, 1992. Having reviewed the record, we too find no compelling evidence that Crestar Bank discriminated against Jeffrey Driggs on the basis...

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5 cases
  • Boardley v. Household Fin. Corp. III
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Maryland
    • August 14, 2014
    ...ECOA context” and noting that the Fourth Circuit “followed suit in [its] sole unpublished opinion on the subject [,] Crestar Bank v. Driggs, 995 F.2d 1062 (4th Cir.1993) ”). But, this Court has stated:“As applied in an ECOA case, the McDonnell Douglas formulation requires that the plaintiff......
  • Best Med. Int'l, Inc. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
    • March 29, 2013
    ...Circuit opinion, on which Wise relies, addressing ECOA discrimination. Wise, 496 Fed.Appx. at 285–86 (citing Crestar Bank v. Driggs, 995 F.2d 1062 (4th Cir.1993) (unpublished)). While this by no means requires the Court to disregard Wise, and it thus retains persuasive influence, for the re......
  • Moran Foods v. Mid-Atlantic Market Development
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • February 5, 2007
    ...insisted on the guaranty. If so, there was no discrimination on the basis of marital status. Crestar Bank v. Driggs, 995 F.2d 1062, 1993 WL 198187, at *1 (4th Cir. June 11, 1993) (per curiam) ("the evidence supports the defendant's contention that Kimberlee Driggs was asked to assume liabil......
  • Wise v. Vilsack
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit
    • November 1, 2012
    ...Sav. Bank, 151 F.3d 712, 715 (7th Cir. 1998). We followed suit in our sole unpublished opinion on the subject. See Crestar Bank v. Driggs, 995 F.2d 1062 (4th Cir. 1993). Applying McDonnell Douglas in the ECOA context, the Wises had to set forth a prima facie case consisting of four elements......
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