UWM files suit against creator of Facebook group for brokers

United Wholesale Mortgage is suing Ramon Walker, owner of brokerage Client Direct Mortgage and creator of a Facebook group dubbed "Rocket Pro TPO vs. UWM," for trademark infringement and not paying an outstanding early payout balance of $124,011.37.

In December, UWM sent a cease-and-desist, warning Walker that it was closely monitoring the Facebook group he created and asking the broker to remove all improper use of the wholesale lender's intellectual property. Simultaneously, UWM demanded that Walker pay the amount due.

The wholesale lender followed up with a suit filed Feb. 14 in Michigan federal court accusing Walker of using its logo in the Facebook group's banner. Doing so has intentionally caused confusion in the mortgage marketplace and among customers of UWM's products and services, the wholesale lender claims. (The group removed it as of Jan. 5.) 

Regarding the early payout balance, Walker had done business with UWM as a non-delegated correspondent lender. From June 2020 through May 2023 at least twelve loans delivered by the broker were paid off within 180 days of disbursement, the suit states. 

Client Direct Mortgages' "failure to pay its early payoff balance is a breach of the correspondent agreement that has caused UWM damage," the wholesale lender said. The brokerage did business with UWM between 2015 and December 2023, Walker said in a previous interview.

Walker has claimed that UWM has filed this suit as a warning to showcase "to all the other brokerages right now, those who may own millions in EPO, of what can happen [if they walk away]." 

UWM declined to respond to a request for comment. Walker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since the cease-and-desist was issued, Walker's Facebook group has doubled in membership, growing from 2,000 members to close to 5,000 members. 

The group's users discuss broker-related topics including loan products offered by Rocket or UWM, the latter lender's ultimatum, comparisons of both companies' technology and Federal Reserve interest-rate policy.

In January, Walker said he created the group to give brokers a channel for open, unfiltered dialogue.

"I think it's worth having a discussion around who's better, especially with the ultimatum in place," Walker told National Mortgage News. "The group is causing people to have open discussions and it's actually aggregating people that have been silenced." 

"The notice says that I'm defaming them and having a negative impact on the relationship between them and the broker community– which I don't think is viable, though the one argument they may have is about their logo, so that's fine," he added.

Apart from this suit, UWM has been pursuing other cases against brokers that allegedly flouted its All In ultimatum. The wholesale lender filed litigation against Atlantic Mortgage Trust Corporation and District Lending for purportedly undermining said agreement. Both cases are still pending.