Loan Exec Loses Ruling to Ex-Wife

Roland E. Arnall’s ex-wife may continue to seek documents and testimony from the Ameriquest Mortgage Co. billionaire as she attempts to show that he concealed his true wealth when they divorced seven years ago, a Los Angeles judge ruled Wednesday.

Sally Arnall contends that her former husband failed to disclose significant assets during lengthy mediation proceedings after they separated in 1996, and that he pressured her into accepting an inadequate settlement of $11 million and two homes.

She is asking for various financial and personal information -- including tax returns, property records and evidence of his expansion plans for Orange-based Ameriquest -- during the time leading up to their divorce in 1998.

Leonard J. Meyberg Jr., attorney for the 66-year-old businessman, had contended that most of the information sought by Sally Arnall, 67, could not be released because of confidentiality protections stemming from the mediation.

But Superior Court Judge Richard E. Denner said Vicki Greene, Sally Arnall’s attorney, could proceed by asking the court to compel Arnall to disclose material. Denner said he would rule on a case-by-case basis on whether specific documents or testimony could be released, or whether they were protected by the mediation privilege.

Denner said he would rule later on a motion by Meyberg to strike large portions of declarations submitted by Sally Arnall, Greene and an accounting expert for Sally Arnall. Meyberg contended that the material had been disclosed during the confidential mediation proceedings and couldn’t be used.

Arnall’s companies, operating under the parent Ameriquest Capital Corp., have become the nation’s largest mortgage lenders to so-called sub-prime borrowers -- people who may not qualify for lower-cost bank loans because they have bad credit, too little income or other issues.

His ACC Capital Holdings Corp., the holding company for Ameriquest Mortgage and other operating companies, recorded a pretax profit of $1.38 billion last year on $4.13 billion in revenue, according to financial statements obtained by The Times.

According to filings by his ex-wife in the divorce case, Arnall portrayed his businesses as struggling to stay above water in 1997 and 1998 as turmoil in the financial markets made it difficult for Wall Street to find buyers for his sub-prime mortgages. Sally Arnall said she was worn down by his arguments and settled out of fear she would get nothing if she waited and his financial empire deteriorated further.