By: Associated Press//November 30, 2012//
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A federal judge in Pittsburgh has approved a class-action settlement for women who say they were denied mortgage insurance just because they were on maternity leave, or pregnant.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Friday that 34-year-old Carly Neals and other women settled with Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., a Milwaukee-based firm picked by a lender to back loans. Neals lives in Pine, just outside Pittsburgh.
The paper says the settlement will result in payments that could reach $500,000 to 20 women who encountered similar problems with Mortgage Guaranty during pregnancy or maternity leave. A related lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice was settled in May.
Mortgage Guaranty vice president Dan Stilwell said the firm didn’t admit fault in the settlement, but will clarify its underwriting guidelines.