Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley stands accused of failing to disclose close ties between her gubernatorial campaign and a nonprofit that’s at the center of the State of Massachusetts’ lawsuit against the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over buyback programs.

Several weeks ago, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley sent a letter to Mel Watt, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, saying that her office was considering legal action against the FHFA over violations of state laws allowing nonprofits to buy foreclosures and return them to the evicted homeowner. And now, Coakley hopes actions will speak louder than words.

A recent lending discrimination case settled in Massachusetts illustrates why state attorneys general are pushing to keep the legal theory of 'disparate impact' alive as they pursue Fair Housing Act discrimination claims. But the lending community is pushing back just as hard, taking the fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.