WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has issued its first tie vote since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, leaving in place a lower court ruling that barred two Missouri women from suing a bank for loan discrimination.
The justices on Tuesday divided 4-4 in a case that considered whether the women could bring claims under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act after a bank required them to guarantee their husbands’ business loans. The law protects loan applicants from bias based on marital status.
Lower courts ruled that the law covers only those who apply for credit and not those who guarantee to secure the debt.
The women argued that signing as guarantors made them both responsible to repay the loans and put their credit at risk.
