Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate.
Dueling CoStar and CREXi lawsuits develop
CoStar and CREXi have both filed lawsuits against one another, with Costar suing CREXi over copyright infringement and CREXi filing an antitrust counterclaim.
In the case of copyright infringement, CoStar has alleged that CREXi used their listing images without consent. CoStar had filed a request for a partial summary judgment from the court “as to liability only, on its claim for copyright infringement” of 46,506 of the 48,756 images allegedly used. On the other hand, CREXi also filed for a partial summary judgment in its favor.
Both requests were denied by Judge Consuelo B. Marshall of the federal district court in Los Angeles, however, there were several evidentiary objections from both sides sustained and several facts of the case now confirmed by the Court. Last week, Judge Marshall issued an opinion finding that CREXi had copied and cropped thousands of CoStar Group photos via an offshore scheme
In terms of the antitrust counterclaim filed by CREXi against CoStar, an appeals court has decided that the case can move forward, reversing a previous judge’s decision. The case had been dismissed by a judge who did not find the claims plausible, but the appeals court disagreed. The appeals court ruled that CREXi had “plausibly alleged” that CoStar both has “monopoly power” and has engaged in “anticompetitive conduct.”
Zillow calls Compass lawsuit “inactionable”
After Compass filed for a preliminary injunction to stop Zillow’s private listing “ban” from going into effect last week, Zillow fired back today, characterizing the move as a legally lacking attempt to bolster a tenuous case.
Compass sued Zillow back on June 24, arguing that a ban on many private listings announced by the portal back in April constituted a violation of antitrust laws, also accusing the company of conspiring with Redfin and eXp to undercut Compass’ “innovative” marketing strategy, which relies on private listings.
Zillow today pushed back, saying the brokerage’s demand for a court-ordered pause on the new rules “fails in every respect.”
“(W)henCompass fails to sell a home through its own agents and ‘public-facing’ platform (contrary to its appeals to privacy), it asks the Court to force Zillow to display that listing for free,” Zillow wrote. “It is well-settled that the antitrust laws do not impose such a duty to deal.”
A hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m. eastern time.
Several settlements receive final approval
Another six brokerages have now received final approval of their settlements in the Gibson case. Settlements from NextHome, The Keyes Company and Illustrated Properties, John L. Scott, LoKation, Real Estate One and Baird & Warner have all been granted their approvals by Judge Stephen R. Bough of the Western District of Missouri in a quick-hit hearing of a little over 15 minutes. There were no objections to the settlements brought before the court in the hearing
In addition to the Gibson settlement approvals, Judge Bough granted final approval to nine settlements in Keel vs. Washington Fine Properties LLC. The Keel lawsuit is another Burnett copycat, filed by Jeremy Keel and some previously seen figures such as Moehrl, Gibson, Umpa and Burnett. The nine plaintiffs, featuring brokerages such as Side and JPAR, and MLSs such as Brooklyn MLS, had filed to settle the same day the lawsuit itself was filed back in January. The court only received one objection during the 11-minute hearing.
