A lawsuit filed by a Madison County, Tennessee, homeowner alleges that the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) illegally used race to market the Tennessee Homeowner’s Assistance Fund (TNHAF), a Biden-era program intended to provide financial relief to Americans struggling to pay their mortgages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit was filed last week by Tennessee homeowner Norlin Jones, who states that he never learned about the relief program despite owning a mortgaged home in Madison County and having his work schedule reduced during the pandemic.
Jones alleges that he never learned of the program because THDA’s outreach targeted minorities and avoided whites in a racially discriminatory manner. He seeks class certification for other Tennessee homeowners who missed out on applying for part of the more than $168 million in funding.
According to the complaint, the Biden-era American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) required at least 60 percent of the funding to be prioritized for lower-income households, with the remaining funding for “socially disadvantaged individuals.” Tennessee, it claims, created a plan under which membership in a racial or ethnic minority group would automatically confer “disadvantaged” status, while white applicants had to satisfy other criteria in order to qualify.
After establishing the criteria, it alleges that THDA created an outreach program that prioritized minority populations, placed Spanish-language advertising or targeted black Tennesseans, and relied on minority-focused nonprofits, events, and mortgage services to spread awareness.
Jones’ complaint also notes that the applications THDA approved for the TNHAF program were 49 percent black and 49 percent white, even though only 10.5 percent of Tennessee homeowners are black, while 86.4 percent are white.
The lawsuit argues THDA’s implementation of the program amounts to racial discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
In addition to class certification for other white Tennessee homeowners impacted by the alleged racial discrimination, Jones is asking the court to provide compensatory and nominal damages, attorney’s fees, a declaration that the TNHAF program was unconstitutional and violated the Civil Rights Act, and an injunction against race-based administration of the funds left in the program.
Alternatively, the lawsuit requests the program be reopened to take new applicants without racial discrimination.
Filed in the Middle District of Tennessee, the lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2015.
Jones is represented by attorney Paul J. Krog of the firm Bulso PLC, which was founded by State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood).
Krog previously delivered oral arguments for Star News Digital Media, Inc., which owns The Tennessee Star, and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, during its successful appeal to the Tennessee Court of Appeals in litigation seeking to uncover the writings left by the Covenant School killer.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
