A Florida federal court has dismissed a 2021 antitrust case alleging United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) and its chief executive officer, Mat Ishbia, conspired with brokers to mount a group boycott of Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation.
Florida-based Okavage Group sued UWM back in 2021 shortly after the Pontiac-Michigan-based lender announced its "All In" initiative.
A UWM spokesperson responded to NMP's request for comment, saying, "UWM's victory in this frivolous lawsuit reaffirms that the claims against us were baseless from the start. As we've stated from the beginning, the All In initiative benefits both the broker channel and consumers, which is evident in the increase in broker market share over the last few years. The accusations suggesting that All In was harmful have always been false, and this court ruling further underscores that reality."
The original complaint claimed UWM’s ultimatum violated a number of state and federal laws and regulations, including the Sherman Antitrust Act, The Florida Antitrust Act, Tortious Interference with Business Relationship, and Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. A central allegation of the complaint was that UWM-aligned brokers conspired to abide by the alleged boycott.
In accepting the February recommendations of a Florida magistrate judge, U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger wrote in her Sept. 23 decision that “the Court is unpersuaded that Plaintiff has plausibly alleged anything more than knowledge by UWM brokers that other brokers intended to assent to the ultimatum and parallel conduct without any ‘plus’ factor, such as abnormal interfirm communications or actions against self-interest.”
"Taken together, Plaintiff’s allegations, as stated in the [Report and Recommendation], only plausibly allege individual expressions of support and parallel conduct," Berger added.
Launched in March 2021, UWM’s “All In” initiative — dubbed “the ultimatum” by most in the mortgage business — urged brokers to cease dealings with Rocket and Fairway. Brokers agreeing to the initiative signed contracts to send loans exclusively to UWM.
Since 2021, the Michigan-based lender has filed lawsuits against brokers to enforce the terms of the ultimatum, and as a potential sign of the ultimatum's impact, Fairway exited the wholesale channel in February 2024.
UWM and Ishbia still faces charges of racketeering, civil conspiracy, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) violations, and unjust enrichment, filed in an April 2024 class action lawsuit. Those allegations stem from a report detailing the wholesale lenders' relationships with brokerages and brokers, published by the hedge-funded media company, Hunterbrook Media.
