Houston Doctor Sues Chase Bank Over Alleged Racial Discrimination
Brandon Walker, KPRC, February 7, 2022
A medical doctor has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Chase Bank, alleging staff at a branch in Sugar Land refused her request to open a new account and deposit a check because she is Black.
Dr. Malika Mitchell-Stewart, 35, said she had looked forward to depositing her first check as a physician.
Mitchell-Stewart said she went to a Chase Bank, located on the 2400 block of Highway 6 in Sugar Land, in Dec. 2021, to open a new account and deposit a check worth $16,780.16.
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But Dr. Mitchell-Stewart said a teller seemed suspicious when she handed her the check.
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The lawsuit alleges the employee returned with a woman claiming to be the branch manager, telling Dr. Mitchell-Stewart, “she did not feel comfortable allowing her to open a bank account at the First Colony Branch with the check because [the bank employee] believed Dr. Mitchell-Stewart was attempting to commit fraud,” according to the lawsuit.
The suit alleges, “solely because of her race, Dr. Mitchell-Stewart was discriminated against by members of Chase’s banking staff and denied services provided to non-African American customers of Chase.”
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{snip} She said she’s also requested Chase implement changes to how it trains its employees in matters of race.
“I want there to be racial bias training and discriminatory policies created to not let this happen again,” she said.
