Movement Mortgage and Supreme Lending are ratcheting up their disagreement forward of a courtroom listening to in a theft of trade secrets case.
The grievance filed earlier this month accuses a former Movement govt and different prime performers of taking confidential knowledge to Supreme in a monthslong exodus. The sides, in case filings, have raised accusations that border on felony legal responsibility and query the company dealing with of sexual misconduct allegations, as they argue for a preliminary injunction.
The battle between the billion-dollar originators is the newest such spar between trade leaders in recent times. Movement is asking the courtroom to power Supreme at hand over and delete copies of delicate info, whereas the competitor is denying any wrongdoing.
Attorneys for the edges declined to remark this week. They’re scheduled to look earlier than a Texas federal choose in an evidentiary listening to Aug. 5.
“Like company noir”
Movement accuses its former chief development officer Sarah Middleton, who isn’t a named defendant, of facilitating departures to the rival between January and May. Staff allegedly took with them info together with LO efficiency knowledge from a Movement system often known as DOMO.
“Supreme didn’t trouble selecting the lock,” wrote an legal professional for Movement. “It merely bribed the guards, marched inside, and hauled the treasure out the entrance door. The plot reads like company noir.”
According to the grievance, Middleton was upset as a result of she was handed over for a promotion to chief monetary officer, and he or she complained to coworkers concerning the firm. She departed to Supreme two months later in January and was adopted by 5 workers members, together with a Texas originator she coached who had stronger relationships with homebuilders. More staff flocked to Supreme, whereas Movement claims a minimum of 5 others rebuffed recruitment efforts.
Movement claims it requested Supreme to return the laptops of 20 former staff however has solely obtained eight, whereas Supreme contests all computer systems had been returned. Counsel for Movement additionally wrote that the private borrower info is protected underneath the Gramm-Leach-Billey Act.
“Dissemination of such knowledge with out consent is not only a civil violation — it flirts with federal felony legal responsibility,” wrote counsel for Movement in a movement for a preliminary injunction.
Supreme fires again at Movement
In an objection to the preliminary injunction, Supreme accuses Movement of submitting the lawsuit to cease a hemorrhaging of staff leaving the corporate. It argues the plaintiff agency hasn’t shared proof of a diverted mortgage or buyer nor proof of a scheme to steal knowledge.
Attorneys say two former LOs emailed themselves mortgage info earlier than their departure solely to trace if the mortgages closed inside their post-departure compensation window. Other disputed knowledge, in response to Supreme, are merely private worksheets staff used to trace their very own work.
As a part of Supreme’s response, a submitting from Middleton denied misappropriating trade secrets. She acknowledged frustration on the firm, together with over the promotion but it surely was somewhat over a president function (she was beforehand president of gross sales growth and recruiting at Fairway Home Mortgage, in addition to CEO of the Fairway Ignite teaching platform). The govt claims she by no means obtained promised bonuses or compensation for teaching, and was annoyed by what she perceived as a company surroundings heading within the incorrect course.
“Additionally, I witnessed a deterioration in Movement’s tradition, together with what appeared to me to be a course conduct and disrespect for girls,” she wrote. “In addition to terminating numerous girls executives and changing them with males, I don’t agree with how Movement dealt with allegations of sexual misconduct in opposition to girls within the office.”
Neither Middleton nor Movement elaborated on these claims of their filings. Supreme additionally claims it provided to conform to a preliminary injunction, however Movement’s calls for had been unreasonable and overbroad.
“Movement does not establish any proof that provides rise to an inference that Supreme used the data to realize an unfair aggressive benefit,” the movement learn.
A federal choose Monday ordered the edges to attempt to talk about an settlement on a preliminary injunction forward of a required joint standing replace due Thursday.
The South Carolina-based Movement generated $20.7 billion in mortgage quantity final 12 months and has over 1,900 sponsored originators, in response to public databases. Dallas-based Supreme in the meantime counts over 700 sponsored LOs and produced over $4.7 billion in quantity in 2024.
