Union Home Mortgage Corp. (UHM), a national mortgage lender, has filed a lawsuit against several former employees, alleging breaches of their employment contracts, including violations of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements.
According to the complaint, a group of former UHM employees, including loan officers and branch managers, resigned and joined a direct competitor, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation. UHM claims that these individuals improperly solicited their former colleagues to leave the company and misused confidential company information to benefit their new employer.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, seeks injunctive relief to prevent further alleged breaches and financial damages exceeding $75,000 per defendant.
The lawsuit names the following defendants:
Michael Ballew – Former Loan Officer and Branch Manager, accused of breaching non-compete and non-solicitation agreements.
Andy (Carl) Berryman – Former Area Sales Manager, accused of soliciting UHM employees and using confidential information.
Elias Gonzales – Former Branch Manager, alleged to have improperly solicited employees and violated non-compete agreements.
Pedro Gonzalez – Former Branch Manager, accused of breaching employment contracts.
Nicholas Lichwick – Former Area Sales Manager, alleged to have improperly used proprietary information.
Hong (Bobby) Luu – Former Team Lead, accused of violating non-compete agreements and failing to return a signing bonus.
Blain Rosenberry – Former Branch Manager, alleged to have solicited employees and misused trade secrets.
George Tabora – Former Loan Officer, accused of breaching contractual obligations and non-compete clauses.
Robert Webb – Former Branch Manager, alleged to have improperly solicited former colleagues and failed to return signing bonuses.
UHM also claims that some former employees failed to repay signing bonuses they agreed to return if they left before a specified employment period.
The lawsuit reads “Defendants Luu, Rosenberry, Tabora, and Webb have been unjustly enriched by Union Home’s payment of their respective Bonus because they have not earned the full amount yet they have retained the full amount.”
