UWM sued for defamation over exec's event comments

United Wholesale Mortgage is denying accusations in a new lawsuit that one of its executives defamed a title company during a corporate event last year. 

Title Depot of Louisiana claims UWM executive Melinda Wilner called one of its settlement statements "stupid" in front of hundreds of attendees at the UWM Live 2025 event last May in Michigan. Wilner allegedly commented on one of Title Depot's documents on stage to compare its fees to UWM's own offering, Title Review and Closing plus, or TRAC+.

According to the case initially filed in March, Wilner described Title Depot's statement as a "joke" and questioned the fees it charged a customer. "What else was on there that was stupid," Wilner purportedly said.

The UWM executive vice president and chief operating officer, incorrectly identified in the complaint as chief financial officer, allegedly made additional defamatory comments, including suggesting that title examination "only takes five minutes of work."

Title Depot was not in attendance at the event, and Wilner had mischaracterized the closing, said attorney Chris Meeks of Rodrigue & Acruri, LLP, on behalf of the title firm, in an email Friday. The company also received multiple calls and emails from industry professionals after the presentation, he said.

Attorneys for UWM removed the lawsuit from a Louisiana state court and elevated it to a federal court this week. In a previous response to the state complaint, attached in last week's filings, UWM denied the claims and suggested Title Depot omitted larger context. 

A video or transcript of the event is not publicly available. A spokesperson for UWM Friday called the allegations categorically false and completely without merit. 

"They are built on mischaracterizations, unsupported claims and a narrative that simply does not align with the facts," the spokesperson said in a statement. 

Title Depot said it suffered lost revenue and reputational harm from the comments, which were viewed by hundreds of event attendees and viewed thousands of times by industry professionals on a UWM-hosted portal. The Metairie, Louisiana-based firm said it's seeking in excess of $75,000 in damages.

Cheaper title insurance fees?

According to the complaint, Wilner suggested the borrower in the scrutinized transaction paid around $1,700 in fees, by walking away from the transaction with $18,300 rather than $20,000. The executive said UWM would've completed the title work for a fraction of the cost. 

The lawsuit did not include a screenshot or other additional details of the settlement statement.

UWM debuted TRAC+ with a flat $1,850 fee in May 2024, and last October announced fees as low as $1,295, depending on the state and loan amount. The company under the program handles title reviews, closing and disbursement, and improves on an earlier UWM offering which still required a settlement agent.

The mortgage industry has increasingly sought to lower title insurance costs for borrowers, including a longstanding title waiver pilot by Fannie Mae. Retail lender Rate in May launched a program to skip title policies on some refinances.