Equity Resources wins in trade secrets suit against Revolution Mortgage

An Ohio jury sided with Equity Resources in a trade secrets suit lodged against Revolution Mortgage. As a result, Equity is entitled to a little over $70,000 worth of damages.

The suit filed three years ago accused three former loan officers of diverting numerous leads, loans and files from Equity to their new employer. The Ohio-based lender accused Revolution of knowing about what was unfolding and enriching itself because of it.

The jury on March 22 sided with Equity's claims that there was a misappropriation of trade secrets and that Revolution, whose conduct was "willful and malicious," tortiously interfered with business relationships. Law360 first reported on the outcome of the case.

Equity Resources and Revolution Mortgage did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Equity's complaint lodged against Revolution on Dec. 30, 2021, lays out a scheme concocted by three loan officers, Larry Dugger, April Roberts and Kelly Thoman, in which Roberts and Dugger left for Revolution in April 2021 and instructed Thoman to "misuse her access to Equity Resources systems to provide them confidential information and business and sales opportunities." Thoman left Equity two months later, documents show.

With the alleged help of Thoman, Dugger and Roberts diverted at least 40 loans from the mortgage shop and received at least 14 borrowers whose loans were already in the process of being originated with Ohio-based Equity. The originators also stole Equity's training models, the original suit said.

Additionally, between April 12 and May 12, 2021, confidential closing disclosures for various clients were stolen, Equity claimed. The closing disclosures could be useful in "quickly refinancing such loans potentially causing Equity Resources to violate the prohibitions on churning mortgages if the loans were not properly seasoned in accordance with investor requirements," the complaint said.

Leads gathered from this alleged ploy were also shared with Revolution's other loan originators. These actions combined breached the employment agreement that all three originators signed with Equity.

Thoman, Dugger and Roberts are all still employed at Revolution, according to their pages on LinkedIn.

Poaching and trade secret suits are common, but incredibly cash intensive and can take a long time to play out, with most settling out of court, industry stakeholders say.

Mortgage shops including Loandepot, Union Home Mortgage, Northpoint Mortgage have all filed litigation in recent years accusing competitors of misappropriating trade secrets.

Another noteworthy suit currently making its way through a Pennsylvania court is Newrez's litigation against a former executive. The lender accuses James Hecht, former head of its retail operations, of departing to a competitor and orchestrating a ruse to move others.

According to the suit, prior to departing to OneTrust Home Loans on Feb. 1, where Hecht is now CEO, he fired the Newrez managers and later rehired them at his new place of employment. It is alleged that the scheme took place shortly after Newrez announced a recommitment to its retail business when plans to sell didn't materialize.