UWM could beat yet another brokerage in a federal lawsuit

United Wholesale Mortgage wants to wipe out a remaining challenge to its "All-In" mandate.

The complaint is part of a lawsuit and countersuit involving America's Moneyline, a brokerage UWM sued in 2022 for violating its ultimatum. A Michigan federal judge tossed AML's countersuit for fraud in March, citing another court's decision where a judge earlier this year was unconvinced by The Okavage Group's similar arguments. 

Okavage suffered another blow last week as a judge was unswayed by its latest attempts to include findings from the contentious Hunterbrook Media report in its All-In complaint. UWM last week highlighted that recent ruling to the judge overseeing the AML case. 

Both AML and UWM declined to comment on UWM's recent filing. 

The lengthy proceedings with the California-based AML began when UWM sued it for allegedly working with Rocket Pro TPO, in violation of the ultimatum the brokerage signed in 2021. UWM claims its broker partner originated at least 560 loans with Rocket, accruing a $2.8 million penalty according to calculations from the agreement. 

The brokerage countersued for fraud, claiming UWM managers promised no repercussions for violating the mandate before reneging and suing. AML said Rocket offered more loan options for subprime borrowers, and UWM had been trying to win its business months before the lawsuit. 

According to the lawsuit, AML signed the All-In agreement in 2021 so it would be able to close UWM loans in its pipeline. In December, UWM asked AML to end business with Rocket or face consequences, a choice AML likened to extortion. 

The Hunterbrook report in April accused UWM of cheating borrowers out of billions of dollars in excessive fees, or rather paying $865 more on average versus the median lender controlling for loan type and interest rate. The story claimed over 8,600 independent brokers sent 99% or more of their loans to UWM, labeling them "corrupt."

A class action racketeering suit against UWM remains pending. The company has slammed the accusations, pointing to inadequacies in the data behind the findings and accusing the media outlet and its huge fund parent of a "short-and-distort" scheme. 

AML suggests the Hunterbrook report adds substantial factual allegations for its case. The judge overseeing its case has not yet responded to the filings. 

UWM is suing three other brokerages for violating its All-In mandate, federal lawsuits which remain pending. It also reached a $40,000 settlement agreement with Mid Valley Funding in a lawsuit over its alleged breach of UWM's agreement.