PulteGroup tied to bizarre series of lawsuits over executive firing

Bill Pulte acknowledges the ridiculousness of the lawsuits he’s involved in. 

“You’ve got these Fortune 500 executives screwing around,” said Pulte, who is the grandson of PulteGroup’s founder, William J. Pulte.

A boardroom disagreement between the scion, who was on the company board from 2016 to 2020, and Brandon Jones, a former PulteGroup vice president who was slated to become chief operating officer, devolved into a flurry of lawsuits with accusations of online harassing, stalking and defamation.

While Pulte was on the board he was able to block Jones’ promotion to COO. However, Jones was eventually tapped for the role, which he was set to begin in January.

But according to a lawsuit filed by Pulte in December, Jones began harassing him on Twitter through pseudonymous accounts. Jones’ alleged burner accounts posted a series of fiery tweets about Pulte, who has more than 3-million followers on the platform. The claims included that Pulte committed securities fraud, he was widely disliked by PulteGroup employees and was responsible for some of them losing their jobs and that his father Mark Pulte committed arson. (There is no evidence of Pulte or his family engaging in criminal activity, nor have any charges ever been brought against Pulte or his family concerning securities fraud or other of the claimed criminal activity.)

This led the PulteGroup to conduct an investigation that led to Jones being fired, concluding that he had violated the company’s code of ethics.

Jones and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment. But he has filed a defamation lawsuit of his own — against Pulte — in Georgia federal court.

In the 76-page suit, Jones claims he has been the target of a smear campaign, because Pulte wants to make his way back onto the PulteGroup’s board, oust current leadership and take control of the company. Jones says his life has been threatened as a result of Pulte’s tweets, as well as him talking to the press about the case. He is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.

Pulte denies the claims in Jones’ suit and told The Real Deal that his alleged desire to return to the board is “absurd.”

Meanwhile, Stephen Richardson, a California resident, has also sued Jones, claiming he used Richardson’s name, image and likeness, which included a photo of him from college, for one of the burner accounts meant to allegedly defame Pulte.

Jones’ insurance company, Crestwood, has sued its own client along with Pulte, and is seeking to avoid paying for Jones’ defense and a potential settlement or verdict.

So far, PulteGroup, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, has avoided getting mixed up in the legal brawl. And Pulte admitted that he’s concerned about how the legal drama between him and Jones could impact the legacy of his family’s business. 

A PulteGroup spokesperson declined to comment through email, saying it’s a private matter between Pulte and Jones.