Judge: Ford Affiliate Charged Blacks More

By GARY TANNER, Associated Press Writer

March 15, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A federal judge said Wednesday that the plaintiffs in a lawsuit had proved that a lending affiliate of the Ford Motor Co. discriminated against black customers by charging them higher rates on car loans. But the judge gave the two sides another 30 days to come up with a plan to end the practice and settle the case.

After a two-week trial, U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger announced from the bench that she would rule against Primus Automotive Financial Services, a unit of the Ford Motor Credit Corp.

But before issuing a final ruling, she asked both sides to negotiate for 30 days to draft a proposal on how to end the discrimination and said both sides could still agree to settle the case.

"What I have decided is that the plaintiffs have proved their case and that they will win in my decision," Trauger said.

She said by agreeing to negotiate, she said the defendants would not give up their right to appeal a final decision.

"I am of the opinion that courts ought not to overly intrude and tinker in all the details of something like this. I would much prefer that I get a proposal from the parties here," Trauger said. "However, if I am put to it, I will decide how I will structure the remedy in this case."

The lawsuit lists 11 named plaintiffs, but attorneys said thousands of black customers were discriminated against and are included in the class. Attorneys said they were unfairly charged hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they should have been on car loans.

The plaintiffs were not seeking damages in the case.

Primus spokeswoman Meredith Libbey said in a statement following Wednesday's hearing that the company disagrees with the judge's conclusions.