Dive Brief:

•  The U.S. Supreme Court decided Thursday to consider a challenge to a legal doctrine that the Obama administration has used to prove that otherwise harmless housing and lending practices discriminate against minorities.

• The high court will hear a Texas case that involves a legal theory called “disparate impact,” in which lawyers use statistics to prove that some housing and lending practices unintentionally harm minorities.

• This is the court’s third round with the issue. Two other cases were settled out of court before their scheduled dates for oral arguments.

Dive Insight:

Civil rights advocates support the use of disparate impact.  But financial firms, which have paid millions of dollars in federal fines for allegedly charging higher fees and pushing higher-risk loans on black and Hispanic borrowers, are hoping Supreme Court conservatives will rule that the government should limit its fines and punishment to intentional acts of discrimination.