Late last month, the Township of Mount Holly, NJ, as petitioner, filed its opening merits brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in a closely watched disparate impact case, despite continuing settlement discussions. The crux of the case, Township of Mount Holly v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc. et al., No. 11-1507, is whether disparate impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act. The township argues that they are not. In its brief with the SCOTUS, the township asserted that under the ordinary meaning of...