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A federal judge has ordered United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) to make its CEO, Mat Ishbia, available for a deposition in a dispute with Atlantic Trust Mortgage Corporation. The judge also imposed a sanction for civil contempt due to UWM’s failure to obey a previous court order regarding this matter.
U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg ordered on Monday that Ishbia must be available for a deposition of up to four hours within the next 30 days in the case filed by UWM against the brokerage shop two years ago.
The judge granted Atlantic Trust’s motion to hold UWM in civil contempt, ordering the company to pay the brokerage attorney’s fees related to bringing the motion. Atlantic Trust has 14 days to submit its bill to the court for approval.
“Failure to comply with this Order will be grounds for a second finding of contempt of court and will result in additional financial sanctions,” Judge Berg wrote.
In a statement to HousingWire, a UWM spokesperson said, “While UWM disagrees with this finding, UWM respects the Court’s order and will comply with the order. UWM remains confident in its position and this should not detract from the substance of the matter.”
UWM filed the lawsuit in a U.S. district court in Michigan in 2024 against Atlantic Trust, a Florida-based broker shop with 20 loan officers, according to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS).
The lender sued Atlantic Trust for breach of contract, specifically for violating its “All-In Initiative.” This initiative required independent mortgage brokers to stop working with two competitors to continue doing business with UWM. UWM alleges that Atlantic Trust submitted 71 loans to these competitors, resulting in $335,000 in liquidated damages.
During a telephonic conference on December 12, the court ordered UWM to produce Ishbia for a deposition to answer questions about the lawsuit, as the defendant had identified him as a person with relevant information.
In March, Atlantic Trust reported that UWM indicated it would not comply with the decision, and the court reaffirmed its order. UWM then filed a motion opposing the determination.
“From the Court’s perspective, this appeared to be a contumacious stratagem because by then the Court had twice ordered UWM to conduct the deposition,” the Judge wrote. “Nevertheless, the Court carefully considered the motion and on April 9, 2026, because the motion violated the Local Rules, the Court struck the motion.”
The judge gave Atlantic Trust the opportunity to file a motion addressing whether Ishbia’s deposition was lawful and whether the company should be held in contempt for not complying with the previous order.
At some point, UWM proposed producing its chief legal counsel, Adam Wolfe. Atlantic Trust rejected, stating that Wolfe is not an adequate or appropriate substitute.
Atlantic Trust argues that Ishbia has unique, direct personal knowledge regarding the creation of the “All-In Initiative” and its liquidated damages provision. Meanwhile, UWM contended his deposition would provide no relevant information, be exceptionally burdensome and appear to be sought solely for the purpose of harassment.
The judge rejected UWM’s arguments, noting that under the Sixth Circuit, corporate officers cannot avoid depositions simply because of their high-ranking titles.
