Broker's UWM "All-In" complaint should be tossed, judge says

A federal judge is recommending a lawsuit over United Wholesale Mortgage's "All-In" initiative be tossed, suggesting a broker didn't back up claims that the lender's decree is anticompetitive.

The Florida-based Okavage Group can still object to the court's report before it's reviewed by a higher judge, according to court filings this week. The mortgage broker's complaint, filed shortly after UWM's announcement in 2021, is one of five pending claims over the wholesale addendum detractors have deemed an "ultimatum."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura Lothman Lambert, in siding with UWM, wrote Monday she didn't believe a conspiracy among brokers around "All-In" existed. UWM in March 2021 made brokers agree not to do business with wholesale competitors Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp., and claims it had overwhelming buy-in from its partners.

"Plaintiff includes no factual allegations to plausibly allege the potential for genuine adverse effects on competition and thus, fails to allege a sufficient link between the ultimatum and harm to competition within the overall mortgage market or the wholesale retail mortgage market," the magistrate said. 

UWM in a statement Wednesday lauded Lambert's decision. The Okavage Group, helmed by lone broker Dan O'Kavage, and his attorney didn't respond to requests for comment. 

Lambert's 49-page report and recommendation described a "hub-and-spoke" conspiracy model, and argued that widespread broker support UWM didn't meet that legal standard. An amended lawsuit filed last year references comments by Ishbia in 2023 that 11,500 of 12,000 brokers then agreed to stick with UWM over its rivals. The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts also voiced its support for the initiative. 

The Okavage Group also failed to provide facts that "All-In" has increased the costs of mortgage loans, or wholesale mortgages specifically, the magistrate judge wrote. However, Lambert's comments around wholesale competition are noteworthy given Fairway's recent exit of the wholesale channel.

But the recommendation looks to have been written before Fairway's decision became public.

"Plaintiff does not argue — that Rocket and Fairway were ever eliminated, or that they no longer participate in the wholesale mortgage market," the judge wrote. "Thus, plaintiff's allegations are speculative at best."

Fairway last week said its exit was a mere business shift from a line it had a very small presence in compared with either UWM or Rocket. The lender told National Mortgage News in 2021 that while it lost talent to UWM, it also gained a publicity boost and interest among other brokers. 

The Okavage Group has 14 days from the time it's been served the latest report to file written objections to Lambert's filings. The report will eventually be reviewed by U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger in the Middle District of Florida, based in Jacksonville. 

UWM is suing four partners for selling loans to Fairway and Rocket, with two of those cases filed in the past three months.  Another lender, Mid Valley Funding, agreed to settle and pay UWM $40,000 last June, the company confirmed.