Axia Home Loans sues MasonMac for poaching

Another non-bank mortgage lender is taking a competitor to court over poaching claims, suggesting its rival's scheme is still ongoing.

Axia Home Loans sued Mason-McDuffie Mortgage two weeks ago in a California federal court, requesting the lender return all information it took with departing employees. MasonMac, the name under which Mason-McDuffie conducts business, poached 28 Axia workers last summer from branches in Florida, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington, according to the lawsuit.

"Axia is informed and believes that there is evidence that this orchestrated scheme is ongoing, and that additional Axia employees are still being encouraged to violate their obligations to Axia, and to misappropriate Axia's confidential information for the benefit of MasonMac," wrote attorneys for the lender.

Neither counsel for Axia nor representatives for the firms responded to recent requests for comment. A summons for MasonMac was issued June 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, while an attorney was not yet listed for the lender.

Accusations of raiding have persisted between lenders through the industry's recent highs and lows, including battles between massive firms. Axia, based in Bellevue, Washington, is slightly larger than its San Ramon, California-based adversary. MasonMac originated $703.9 million in mortgages last year against Axia's $1.3 billion, according to data from S&P Global.

Almost two dozen Axia staff including branch managers and loan officers left the company between last July and August, the company said. They violated their employment agreements, Axia claims, by inducing colleagues to leave and take confidential customer and company financial information with them. 

One of those former employees, Ryan Shaffer, allegedly organized a videoconference for Axia employees while at his new executive position at MasonMac, the suit alleges. Shaffer didn't reply to a request for comment.

Former Axia area manager Don Bartolomucci in June emailed an Axia customer list with hundreds of customers' confidential personal and financial information to his personal email, Axia claims. Despite deleting the email and clearing his trash folder, Axia said it was able to recover the evidence and fired him June 15.

"Bartolomucci's cover-up effort is evidence that he knew that his taking of confidential information was done without authorization by Axia, and violated his contract and other legal duties," the suit said. 

Axia is suing for unfair competition and tortious interference among five counts, and is seeking a court order to restrain MasonMac from inducing its employees to depart.

Federal courts have delivered mixed victories for lenders suing competitors for poaching claims. A judge recently handed loanDepot an injunction against CrossCountry Mortgage, although the order didn't bar the rival from soliciting its employees.