A federal judge has asked a company being sued by United Wholesale Mortgage whether the Pontiac, Michigan-based mortgage lender should be held in contempt of court for not complying with an order to have CEO Mat Ishbia participate in a deposition.

Such a request by a judge is uncommon, according to lawyers familiar with the U.S. Eastern District Court of Detroit. Being held in contempt of court can result in fines and potentially other penalties. Terrence Berg, the judge in the case, criticized the mortgage giant for evasion of his Dec. 12 oral order.

"Its manufactured crisis begins to approach 'a mockery ... and an abuse'" of the judicial process, Berg wrote in his latest order filed late Thursday.

UWM is suing Florida-based Atlantic Trust Mortgage Corp. over a provision in its contract known as the "All In" ultimatum requiring that mortgage brokers who do work with UWM don't originate loans with two other mortgage companies, including Detroit-based crosstown rival Rocket Mortgage.

The Detroit News left requests for comment on the judge's order with UWM, Atlantic Trust and Atlantic Trust's attorney in Birmingham, Jeffrey Morganroth.

As a part of the discovery process, Berg ordered the deposition of Ishbia during a status conference in December. After UWM's attorneys indicated the company wouldn't comply and that there was a "misunderstanding" that there was an order after one wasn't filed, Berg filed a text-only order for the deposition on March 25.

UWM responded with an emergency motion to reconsider and for leave to file a protection order. It called the deposition request at the time an "undue burden" after its chief marketing and legal officers were made available for testimony.

Berg struck down the motion to reconsider because UWM didn't seek concurrence with the defendant. He also directed Atlantic Trust to file a motion addressing justification for a deposition of Ishbia and "whether Plaintiff should be held in contempt for not complying with the Court’s oral order at the December 12, 2025 status conference to allow Mr. Ishbia’s deposition."

Atlantic Trust has two weeks from Berg's latest order to address the matters. UWM then will have two weeks to respond.

The language used in the order and the action of floating the consideration of contempt of court are signs of a frustrated judge looking to have orders be followed, said Nate Fink, an attorney and partner at law firm Fink Bressack in Bloomfield Hills and Detroit.

"There are a number of options that a judge can consider to address issues which may be violations of a court order," Fink said. "It’s not very common at all for a judge to even be considering and asking the parties for a brief on whether one of the parties should be held in contempt of court. This is a judge who appears very concerned about what appears to be a lack of compliance with his order on this deposition."

UWM in 2024 alleged that Atlantic Trust sent at least 71 loans to Rocket and the other forbidden lender after its signed the ultimatum, according to court filings. UWM estimated damages at $355,000.

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