United Wholesale Mortgage is seeking to block a court-ordered deposition of CEO Mat Ishbia in its ongoing lawsuit against Atlantic Trust Mortgage, according to recent court filings.
On March 25, 2026, U.S. District Judge Terrence G. Berg issued a text-only order directing United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) to produce Ishbia for a deposition within 30 days. The order specifies that the deposition “shall not exceed 4 hours in duration” and extends discovery in the case to April 30, 2026.
A day later, on March 26, 2026, UWM filed an emergency motion asking the court to reconsider and vacate that order and for leave to file a motion for protective order.
In its filing, UWM argued that requiring Ishbia to testify would impose an undue burden, stating that “neither the facts nor the law justify the tremendous, undue burden deposing Mr. Ishbia would impose on UWM.”
The company also argued that other executives are better positioned to provide relevant testimony regarding the issues in the case.
According to UWM's emergency motion, "UWM offered on March 24 as an alternative to Mr. Ishbia to produce for deposition its Chief Legal Officer, Adam Wolfe, who is the person most knowledgeable about the agreement at issue in this case, including the implementation of the All-In Addendum and associated liquidated damages provision. Notably, UWM also advised Defendant during that same telephone call, in connection with briefly adjourning a different deposition, that the lead partner directly overseeing this case had been hospitalized for a medical emergency and that the other senior partner actively engaged on the matter was traveling internationally."
Court filings indicate that Atlantic Trust is seeking Ishbia’s testimony in part due to his alleged involvement in determining the “nature, amount, and structure” of the liquidated damages provision tied to UWM’s “All-In” policy.
On April 1, a UWM spokesperson responded to the latest filings: "This is a straightforward contract dispute that has already been resolved by the Eastern District of Michigan. UWM has made senior leaders available for testimony, including the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Legal Officer, both whom attended the meeting in question. Under these circumstances, there is no legitimate need to depose the company’s CEO. The request is unnecessary and just meant to harass and try to gain publicity. The sole remaining issue before the court is the amount of damages owed to UWM.”
The litigation has progressed through multiple procedural stages since 2024. Atlantic Trust twice moved to dismiss the case, but the court denied its motion to dismiss UWM’s amended complaint on March 25, 2025. Atlantic Trust later filed counterclaims, which the court dismissed on March 13, 2026.
The deposition dispute follows earlier discovery proceedings in the case. The court held a status conference in December 2025 regarding a discovery dispute and later scheduled another for March 26, 2026, before canceling it in its March 25 order directing UWM to produce Ishbia for deposition.
The court has not yet ruled on UWM’s emergency motion to block Ishbia’s deposition. If the order stands, Ishbia would be required to sit for the deposition within 30 days of the March 25 order.
