A
lawsuit
against
the
“All-In”
initiative
at


United
Wholesale
Mortgage
(UWM)
should
be
dismissed,
a
federal
judge
said,
citing
inadequate
evidence
to
prove
accusations
against
the
lender. 

Florida-based

Okavage
Group
sued
UWM
in
April
2021,
following
the
lender’s
announcement
of
an
ultimatum
that
the
wholesale
lender
will
no
longer
partner
with
brokers
who
also
work
with


Rocket
Mortgage
or


Fairway
Independent
Mortgage
Corp.

Okavage
refused
to
sign
an
addendum,
which
states
that
brokers

cannot
engage
in
business
with
Fairway
or
Rocket.
UWM
terminated
its
contract
with
the
broker
and
no
longer
accepts
mortgage
applications
from
Okavage
customers.

The
one-member
LLC
and
mortgage
broker
accused
UWM
of
violations
of
the
Sherman
Act
and
Florida
Antitrust
Act,
as
well
as
monopolization
of
the
wholesale
mortgage
market
as
a
result
of
the
lender’s
ultimatum. 

Okavage
Group
had
requested
the
court
to
declare
the
ultimatum
illegal
under
federal
and
Florida
antitrust
laws. 

Okavage
Group
claimed
UWM’s
coercion
of
a
boycott
against
Fairway
and
Rocket
has
had
“the
effect
of
increasing
the
costs
of
mortgage
loans
and
has
increased
the
cost
of
operations
of
plaintiff
…
to
an
artificially
high,
non-competitive
level,”
according
to
a
court
filing
with
the
U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Middle
District
of
Florida.

But
U.S.
Magistrate
Judge
Laura
Lothman
Lambert
wrote
in
a
filing
on
Tuesday
that
Okavage
provides
“no
underlying
facts
at
all
…
to
support
its
conclusion
that
the
ultimatum
has
increased
the
costs
of
mortgage
loans,
nor
does
it
specify
whether
the
cost
of
all
mortgage
loans
have
increased,
or
only
those
in
the
wholesale
market.”

The
filing
also
noted
that
while
Okavage
alleges
that
brokers
who
decided
to
work
with
UWM
could
not
apply
for
mortgages
from
Rocket
or
Fairway,
there
are
no
facts
indicating
the
actual
effects
of
the
action
on
the
market
as
a
whole. 

In
addition,
despite
Okavage’s
claim
that
an
“elimination”
of
Rocket
and
Fairway
“significantly
reduced
competition
in
the
relevant
market,”
there
is
nothing
in
the
factual
assertion
that
Rocket
and
Fairway
were
ever
eliminated
or
that
they
no
longer
participate
in
the
wholesale
mortgage
market,
the
judge
wrote.

It
is
unclear
whether
the
judge
took
into
consideration
Fairway’s
recent
decision
to

exit
the
wholesale
channel.
Earlier
this
month,
Fairway
—
the
nation’s
ninth-largest
mortgage
originator
—
announced
a
100%
business
shift
to
retail
lending.

The
judge
also
noted
an
insufficient
link
between
the
ultimatum
and
harm
to
competition
within
the
overall
mortgage
market,
or
to
the
wholesale
mortgage
market.

“We
are
not
surprised
with
the
decision
from
the
Magistrate
Judge
and
know
her
recommendation
is
accurate,”
a
UWM
spokesperson
said. 

Okavage
Group
didn’t
respond
to
requests
for
comment. It
has
14
days
to
file
written
objections
to
the
report’s
proposed
findings
and
recommendations.

Since
UWM
announced
its
controversial
“All-In”
initiative
in
March
2021,
the
lender
has
been
hit
with
federal
antitrust
claims
and
has
also
sued
other
lenders
for
breaching
their
contracts
by
doing
business
with
Rocket
and
Fairway.

Most
recently,
UWM

sued

Atlantic
Trust
Mortgage
Corp.
for
selling
loans
to
rivals
Rocket
and
Fairway
despite
agreeing
to
the
contract.

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