loanDepot.com, LLC v. CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC

Background

The court held a telephone discovery conference to resolve issues raised in letters from loanDepot.com, LLC (LD) and CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC (CC). The order addressed three requests by LD and one request by CC.

LD’s request for recruitment communications

LD asked the court to require CC to collect and produce responsive documents from relevant custodians’ text messages, personal email, and other cloud-based accounts. CC opposed the request, arguing in part that the communications duplicated documents already produced and that LD waited too long to seek them.

The court granted in part and denied in part the request. CC must search the personal email accounts and text messages of Justin Lieberman, DJ Mellay, and Matthew Reid and produce non-privileged communications concerning the recruitment of the Individual Defendants. The search and production must cover approximately the two-month period between Scott Bonora’s conversation with Mr. Lieberman in 2021 and CC’s hiring of the Individual Defendants. The parties must discuss and agree on the search terms and exact timeframe using the court’s guidance.

LD’s request to depose Ron Leonhardt

LD renewed its request to depose Ron Leonhardt, CC’s Chief Operating Officer. LD argued that Leonhardt had participated in recruiting the Individual Defendants and had unique knowledge about how special financing helped CC recruit them and about a trip CC organized for some of them to visit CC’s headquarters in Ohio. CC opposed the deposition under the “Apex Doctrine,” which provides added protection from depositions for senior corporate executives when the requested information is cumulative or available from other sources.

The court granted LD’s request. It found that Leonhardt had played some role in the recruitment effort, that questions remained about the extent of his role, that he was in the best position to answer those questions, and that CC had not identified another source for the information. The deposition is limited to two hours of on-the-record time and to CC’s recruitment of the Individual Defendants and the Ohio trip.

CC’s request for documents

CC asked the court to require LD to produce documents relevant to CC’s affirmative defenses, chiefly its defense that LD had committed earlier material breaches of the employment agreements between LD and the Individual Defendants. LD argued that CC sought irrelevant documents in a burdensome and harassing manner.

The court granted in part and denied in part CC’s request. LD must promptly investigate loan number 400716321 to determine whether it was referred to an internal loan consultant, whether it was characterized as a “corporate loan,” and what compensation Mr. Bonora and Stan Aleshin received in connection with it. After the investigation, LD must provide the information to CC, and the parties must promptly discuss what additional documents, if any, CC seeks.

Further proceedings and disposition

The parties must meet and confer by April 30, 2024, and file a joint letter about any remaining depositions and the required discussions. They must also order and file a transcript of the discovery conference. This was a discovery order; it did not decide the underlying claims or defenses.