Revolution Mortgage Lawsuit: Trade Secrets Verdict and Fees

The Revolution Mortgage lawsuit that drew industry attention is Equity Resources, Inc. v. T2 Financial, LLC, a trade secrets case in which an Ohio federal jury found that Revolution Mortgage — the trade name of T2 Financial, LLC — misappropriated trade secrets from competitor Equity Resources and acted willfully and maliciously. The jury awarded modest damages of $73,709.77 in March 2024, but a later fee award pushed Revolution’s total exposure to roughly four and a half times that figure, and the Sixth Circuit affirmed that fee award in January 2026.¹

What the Lawsuit Was About

Equity Resources, an Ohio-based mortgage lender, sued Revolution Mortgage after three of its loan officers — Larry Dugger, April Roberts, and Kelly Thoman — left for Revolution in 2021. Dugger and Roberts departed in April, and Thoman followed about two months later. According to the complaint, Dugger and Roberts instructed Thoman to misuse her continuing access to Equity’s internal systems and funnel confidential information and business opportunities to Revolution.²

Equity alleged the departing originators took proprietary training models and, between mid-April and mid-May 2021, pulled confidential closing disclosures for various clients. Those disclosures, Equity argued, could be used to quickly refinance the loans at Revolution, potentially running afoul of mortgage churning prohibitions if the original loans were not properly seasoned. With Thoman’s alleged help, Dugger and Roberts reportedly diverted at least 40 loans from Equity to Revolution and took at least 14 borrowers whose loans were already being originated at Equity. Leads from the scheme were allegedly shared with other Revolution loan originators.²

The claims arose under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act and the Ohio Uniform Trade Secrets Act, along with a tortious interference claim. Equity originally filed in Licking County Common Pleas Court in November 2021; the case was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, where it proceeded against T2 Financial as the sole defendant after the individual originators were dismissed.³

What the Jury Decided

On March 22, 2024, the jury found that Revolution Mortgage misappropriated Equity’s trade secrets and that its conduct was “willful and malicious.” The jury also found Revolution tortiously interfered with Equity’s business relationships.²

The damages number was smaller than the liability findings suggested. The jury awarded $73,709.77, and that money was tied to a conversion claim rather than to the trade secret claims themselves.⁴¹

Why the Fees Exceeded the Damages

After the verdict, Equity moved for attorney’s fees, asking for $565,798.43 in fees and $14,746.79 in costs. The district court awarded $243,115.39 in fees and the full $14,746.79 in costs, and denied interest on the fees.¹

Revolution appealed. Its core argument was that because the jury awarded zero dollars specifically on the trade secret counts, Equity should not qualify for fee-shifting under the trade secret statutes. Revolution also tried to challenge the underlying verdict.¹

On January 6, 2026, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the fee award in an unpublished opinion. The panel held that Equity qualified as a prevailing party under both the Defend Trade Secrets Act and the Ohio Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and that the jury’s finding of willful and malicious misappropriation was itself enough to trigger a fee award; the statutes did not require damages on those specific claims. The court declined to review the merits of the jury verdict, finding it lacked jurisdiction because Revolution had not filed a timely appeal within 30 days of the March 2024 judgment. The Sixth Circuit also noted that Revolution never challenged the district court’s lodestar calculation, so the reduced fee figure sat well within the trial court’s discretion.¹

Revolution owes Equity the $73,709.77 jury award plus roughly $258,000 in fees and costs.

Other Lawsuits Involving Revolution Mortgage

Two other cases involving Revolution are worth knowing about, though neither is part of the trade secrets dispute. In August 2023, loan officers Kevin M. Lauer and Jeannine Roediger filed a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action against Revolution in the Southern District of Ohio, alleging unpaid wages and unpaid sales commissions. On July 15, 2024, the court approved a $145,000 settlement, which included $37,750 in attorney’s fees, with up to $40,000 allocated to the non-FLSA commission claims.⁵⁶

In July 2024, Revolution filed its own breach-of-contract suit against Lawrence Steinway and New American Funding, LLC in the Southern District of Ohio, referencing an employment agreement, a credit agreement, and a promissory note. Revolution later filed a stipulation of dismissal, and the case closed on April 8, 2025.⁷

1
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Equity Resources, Inc. v. T2 Financial, LLC, No. 25-3255
2
National Mortgage News. Equity Resources Wins in Trade Secrets Suit Against Revolution Mortgage
3
CourtListener. Equity Resources, Inc. v. T2 Financial LLC
4
Law360. Jury Hands Mortgage Co. $73K Win in Trade Secrets Fight
5
PACER Monitor. Lauer v. T2 Financial, LLC
6
CaseMine. Lauer v. T2 Financial, LLC
7
PACER Monitor. T2 Financial LLC v. Steinway et al