A Utah-based mortgage technology vendor is seeking over $200,000 from two lenders it says failed to pay it but still used its services.
Lender Toolkit is suing
Celebrity, accused of failing to pay $97,287.90, hasn't yet responded to the allegation. The Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois-based firm wound down operations this year. A federal judge this week also denied its push to toss a class action lawsuit from laid-off employees.
The Money Store, which allegedly owes the vendor $139,068.75, asked a judge last month to dismiss the claim for improper venue. Both CHL and The Money Store entered into contracts with the vendor in early 2021, according to the complaints.
Lender Toolkit's CEO declined to comment Friday on pending litigation, while the defendants nor their attorneys responded to requests for comment. The tech firm filed the suits in May in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Both of Lender Toolkit's lawsuits are only three pages long and provide few details about the alleged breaches of contract, including when the lenders stopped paying.
A filing by The Money Store's chief legal and chief enterprise risk officer includes an alleged copy of the agreement. Lender Toolkit charged a fee of $2 per funded loan for Mortgage Electronic Registration System automation, with a minimum of 750 loans per month. The vendor also charged $250 per funded loan for Federal Housing Administration Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium automation.
The Money Store claims it was directed by Lender Toolkit to send invoices to a P.O. box in Bountiful, Utah, 11 miles north of Salt Lake City, before Dec. 31, 2021. After that date, The Money Store said it was instructed to send payments to its current Salt Lake City address.
Counsel for The Money Store asked a judge to move the case to New Jersey if the magistrate didn't toss the case for improper venue. The lender is located in Florham Park, New Jersey.
"Colorado accounts for only .081% of MLD's nationwide business volume between 2019 and the date of this Motion," wrote Robin Jackson of Denver-based Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, on behalf of The Money Store.
The originator operates in 47 states, counts 121 sponsored loan originators in the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, and originated $786 million in mortgage volume in 2022, according to S&P Global data.
Before its demise, Celebrity Home Loans originated $5.55 billion in mortgage volume last year, according to S&P Global. The company was founded in 2006 and this year has faced regulatory actions in California, Connecticut and Massachusetts, according to NMLS records.
