The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance has filed a First Amended Complaint against former CEO Ryan A. Weyandt in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, seeking substantial damages across eight counts, and claiming he misappropriated the organization’s valuable 10,000-member customer list and engaged in a pattern of false statements designed to damage its reputation.
The First Amended Complaint, filed Jan. 22, significantly escalates the nonprofit’s legal action following a July 2025 court order that required Weyandt to return control of the organization’s financial accounts and digital assets.
The new filing adds defamation claims and allegations of tortious interference with prospective economic advantage to the original trade secret misappropriation charges.
In addition to violations of the Minnesota Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, the amended complaint now alleges civil theft, conversion, defamation and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage. The Alliance seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief and attorney’s fees, with damages estimated to exceed $300,000 across multiple counts.
“Due to defendant’s willful and malicious misappropriation of plaintiff’s trade secrets, plaintiff is entitled to exemplary damages,” the complaint states, highlighting the severity of the alleged conduct.
The customer list—a comprehensive database of over 10,000 LGBTQ+ and industry professionals, corporate executives, association leaders, agents and potential homebuyers developed over 5.5 years—is at the heart of the dispute. The nonprofit maintains that this list is a critical trade secret that provides a significant competitive advantage and generates substantial revenue through membership profiles, partnerships and sponsorships.
“The Customer List is not generally known or readily ascertainable,” the complaint states, noting that “only Alliance’s employees, staff and Board have access” to it. “The Customer List provides a competitive advantage to Alliance, as it distinguishes Alliance from all other competitors in this market.”
The June 2025 takeover
According to the amended complaint, tensions escalated dramatically in June 2025 when Weyandt—six months after resigning in December 2024, citing personal struggles with addiction—took unilateral control of the organization’s digital infrastructure. On June 25, 2025, Weyandt allegedly:
- Unlawfully accessed and took control of the Alliance’s email server and Customer List, and sent an email to the entire Customer List claiming he had resumed “emergency fiduciary oversight” because “Alliance is currently in a state of collapse”
- Deactivated several of Alliance’s employees’ and directors’ accounts
- Threatened to take adverse action to Alliance utilizing Alliance’s accounts
- Edited and removed key information from Alliance’s website
Weyandt’s June 25 email stated that the board “has lost quorum, key governance protocols have failed, financial recordkeeping is inconsistent and individuals without lawful authority are acting in leadership roles.” The Alliance contends these statements were false and designed to damage its reputation and standing in the LGBTQ+ and real estate communities.
Pattern of false statements
The amended complaint details a pattern of allegedly false and defamatory statements made by Weyandt starting in December 2024 and continuing through at least early July 2025. On July 2, 2025, the complaint alleges Weyandt made additional false claims, including:
- That multiple board members and officers were “never lawfully replaced” since 2023
- That the Alliance lacked a “valid CEO” after his departure
- That the Alliance “forced” his resignation
- That the Alliance’s National President Justin Ziegler conspired to cancel the national Board election
- That the Alliance coordinated a “campaign of defamation and slander” against him
“The statements made by defendant on or around June 25, 2025 and July 2, 2025 have lowered and tend to lower Alliance’s reputation and estimation in the LGBTQ+ and real estate communities,” the complaint states, asserting that Weyandt’s actions “caused several of plaintiff’s customers and members to cease their memberships, subscriptions and/or relationships with plaintiff.”
