Union Home Mortgage sues rival for alleged trade secrets theft

Union Home Mortgage is suing an Ohio rival over its trade secrets, pinning the theft on two former employees. 

The lender names Go Mortgage along with Nicholas Capretta and Morgan Roderick as defendants in the case filed last week in an Ohio federal court. Capretta, a former area sales manager at UHM, is listed as Go's current vice president of retail sales, while Roderick remains in a loan officer role in Columbus, Ohio.

Roderick sent confidential company information to his personal email account in September before resigning, the complaint alleges. According to UHM, he's also violating an employment agreement by competing within 100 miles of his former UHM branch in Columbus. Go is based in the city, and UHM is headquartered about 125 miles north in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb. 

"Upon information and belief, Capretta, Roderick, and Go are using or plan to use the stolen trade secrets to gain a competitive advantage over Union Home and to improperly solicit Union Home's employees," counsel for UHM wrote.

Attorneys for UHM referred questions to the firm, which declined to comment Monday. A spokesperson for Go also declined to comment, while the employees didn't respond to messages.

The lawsuit is the latest poaching complaint between lenders, following a spate of similar suits last year. The volume of such cases has declined significantly as both market activity and payrolls have dwindled, and many of the previously filed claims remain pending in federal courts. 

Capretta joined UHM in 2020 and resigned last October. His former employer claims he solicited Roderick to leave this past September, just one year after he began working at UHM. The two men also allegedly worked close together at Concord Mortgage Group, with Capretta working at that company's Westerville, Ohio location. 

The confidential information in question includes customer lists, financial statements and projections, and sales training information, the complaint says. UHM is weighing six counts, including misappropriation of trade secrets, against Go. It did not specify the amount of information allegedly stolen nor total monetary damages sought.

It's the second trade secrets and raiding lawsuit involving UHM in the past year, after Caliber Home Loans sued the Ohio lender in Texas last October for allegedly poaching 52 of its employees. The sides reached a settlement in June, according to court records, but have yet to file dismissal papers. 

The Go Mortgage suit is the second such complaint between lenders to be filed this month, after Movement Mortgage sued Summit Funding and six of their employees in a North Carolina federal court. Movement accuses its former workers of stealing confidential information and using it to solicit even more workers to Summit. A federal judge Friday heard a motion for a temporary restraining order against Summit and was scheduled to file a decision in court records soon.