The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate.
DOJ tips hand in REX v. Zillow appeal
The Department of Justice (DOJ) took a hard stance against a previous court ruling in a case involving Real Estate Exchange (REX), Zillow and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). In a hearing before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on February 13, the DOJ argued that NAR’s no-comingling rule required Zillow to segregate non-MLS listings, stifling competition.
The DOJ asserted that even optional rules can lead to anti-competitive behavior if they lead to coordinated actions—like Zillow’s website redesign—that limit competition from non-MLS listings.
Alice Wang, an attorney representing the DOJ, argued that the optional “no co-mingling rule,” which bans MLS listings from being displayed alongside other listings, invited “concerted action” by competing entities in violation of antitrust law, adding that a district judge that previously dismissed the case had failed to consider all the relevant legal theories.
NAR has repeatedly emphasized the optional nature of the rule, and claimed it had no part in Zillow’s decision to segregate listings on its website. The Ninth Circuit is set to rule on REX’s appeal in the coming months.
Judge in largest buyer case blocks new state claims
In the largest and oldest class-action commission-focused case filed by homebuyers (known as Batton), Judge LaShonda Hunt mostly sided with defendants in a dispute over new claims and new named plaintiffs, characterizing the proposed amendment as burdensome and unnecessary.
Hunt, of the Northern District of Illinois, characterized the new claims as surprising and untimely, noting the lawsuit was filed all the way back in 2021. Plaintiffs had argued the new claims were meant to align the case with rulings around buyer immunity in the seller cases and ensure the potential class, while defendants worried the additional claims would delay the case significantly at an advanced point in proceedings.
Hunt did allow plaintiffs and defendants (which include NAR and other big brokerages) to discuss adding several new named plaintiffs to the case. Both sides were asked to report back in two weeks on whether they are able to agree on that issue.
Homie Technologies pushes back against argument to dismiss case
Homie Technology, in a briefing to judge Dale A. Kimball of the central division of Utah, filed a notice Feb. 3, 2025, with respect to a recent precedent cited by defendants.
The original filing claims that Homie Technologies was a victim of antitrust violations by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), RE/MAX, Anywhere and others by way of steering consumers away from the discount brokerage.
Defendants had cited a recent Tenth Circuit antitrust decision as grounds for dismissing the case. Homie argued to Kimball that a “glaring” deficiency in identifying relevant markets cited in the Tenth Circuit case was not applicable to Homie’s case, and also that the plaintiffs in the precedent case had never alleged evidence of communications between defendants (Homie claimed that REALTOR® association rules should qualify as “concerted action”).
The briefing concluded by specifying that the “alternative pathway” was the key difference, namely that Homie did and does not have access to such a pathway in real estate markets.
