Five of eight plaintiffs who alleged racial discrimination in a federal suit against Chrysler Financial may withdraw, and two have admitted in sworn testimony that they lied on their loan applications.
Nevertheless, Steve Berman, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, said that other victims of Chrysler’s alleged discrimination are ready to join as plaintiffs, and that the suit against Chrysler will continue. Berman is seeking class-action status on behalf of minorities.
“Since we filed the case, we have been inundated with people who want to join the case as named plaintiffs,” Berman said in a statement.
“We may amend the list of named plaintiffs to include some of these people and to remove others who, for a variety of reasons, want to be common members of the class.”
The suit was filed a year ago by six African-Americans, and it alleges that Chrysler Financial, DaimlerChrysler AG’s North American auto financing unit, denied them loans based on race. Two Hispanic plaintiffs later joined the suit.
The plaintiffs purchased vehicles at dealerships formerly owned by Gerald Gorman, who filed a separate suit charging that Chrysler forced him out of business because he objected to the allegedly racist practices. The dealerships were Marquette Chrysler-Jeep on Chicago’s South Side and Midlothian Dodge in the south suburbs.
One plaintiff, Jarrell Coburn, admitted in a deposition that he did not include on his loan application a mortgage payment for which he is responsible and gave as references two people he didn’t know.
Another, Vanessa Dampeer, listed her income as $4,900 per month on her loan application but testified that she made only $1,700 to $1,800 month.
Court documents name Dampeer as one of the five defendants who will withdraw, though a motion has not been filed by her attorneys.
The suit contended that Coburn and Dampeer should have qualified for Chrysler’s special finance rates based on their credit ratings when they purchased cars from Marquette Chrysler-Jeep in 2002.
However, Coburn testified he didn’t know whether Gorman’s dealership submitted his application to Chrysler Financial. Chrysler says it has no record of receiving it.
Coburn, however, had purchased another car a month earlier from a different dealership with Chrysler financing.
Coburn and Dampeer accepted cash rebates from Chrysler in lieu of special financing and obtained loans from other lenders for 72 months. Chrysler’s longest loan at the time was for 60 months.
Gorman, who is white, has portrayed himself as a co-victim of Chrysler’s alleged discriminatory practices because he tried to protect the interests of his minority customers.
But Coburn testified that Gorman’s dealership told him the only way he could keep his monthly payments below $600 was to take a 72-month loan. He said he was not offered 2.9 percent for 60 months, Chrysler’s special rate at the time, according to court filings.
Both suits charged that executives at Chrysler Financial’s Chicago-area office frequently used racial slurs. Recent depositions taken from other Chrysler executives have supported the allegations, and one executive has been fired.
