BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of 19 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief urging a federal court to reject a challenge to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Discriminatory Effects Rule. The homeowners insurance industry is challenging the rule, which clarifies that insurers and other parties are liable under the Fair Housing Act for housing practices that may have a discriminatory effect on persons in protected classes regardless of whether the insurer intended to discriminate. This form of discrimination is often called a “disparate impact.”