The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate.
Lawsuits against Zillow and Redfin consolidated
A partnership between Zillow and Redfin has come under litigation, with both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and subsequently five state attorneys general filing to block the partnership on the grounds of it being supposedly anti-competitive. The cases, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, were requested to be consolidated into a single lawsuit by the state AGs. U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Trenga, overseeing the case, granted this motion on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
The two portal giants announced their partnership in February 2025, a team-up that would allow Zillow to post rental listings on the Redfin website. The FTC’s Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera has previously alleged that “Zillow paid millions of dollars to eliminate Redfin as an independent competitor in an already concentrated advertising market.”
Redfin has denied this characterization previously and said the partnership with Zillow is a cost-effective measure that benefits Redfin customers.
Mortgage fraud charges on New York Attorney General Letitia James dropped
Charges of mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James were dropped on Monday, November 24, 2025.
The case—first brought in October 2025, claiming that James made false statements to a financial institution during her 2020 purchase of a home in Virginia—was dismissed on procedural grounds. U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled the appointment of Lindsay Halligan, interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia who filed the charges against James, was unlawful. Ergo, the case was thus dropped without prejudice, meaning it can be potentially refiled at a later date.
In a statement on the dismissal of the charges, James said: “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country. I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”
The administration has charged several of the President’s political opponents—such as James, California Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and former FBI Director James Comey (whose charges were dismissed alongside James’)—with similar mortgage fraud cases. This has led to allegations and reporting the charges are political in nature, though it has also been reported that “malicious intent” on mortgage fraud is difficult to prove.
RealPage settles collusion lawsuit with Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and RealPage, one of the largest property management software providers, have reached a proposed settlement in an antitrust lawsuit brought against RealPage. The settlement, shared in statements by both RealPage and the DOJ, currently still awaits final court approval.
The lawsuit, brought by the DOJ and eight state attorneys general in August 2024, alleges that RealPage’s practices facilitate algorithmic price-fixing on properties between landlords. As part of the settlement, RealPage would have to discontinue certain practices such as having its software use competitors’ nonpublic and “competitively sensitive” information to determine rental prices and using active listing data to train software models.
Under the settlement, RealPage would not be required to admit wrongdoing (which it has denied). It would be required to accept a “court-appointed” monitor to ensure compliance with the settlement terms and to “cooperate in the United States’ lawsuit against property management companies that have used its software.”
“Competing companies must make independent pricing decisions, and with the rise of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools, we will remain at the forefront of vigorous antitrust enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of DOJ’s Antitrust Division, in a statement.
“This resolution marks an important milestone for RealPage, our customers and the multifamily industry,” said RealPage President and CEO Dirk Wakeham in a statement. “We are convinced that RealPage is part of the solution to addressing the cost of housing, helping operators make informed, independent decisions in a complex housing market. We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the DOJ, which brings the clarity and stability we have long sought and allows us to move forward with a continued focus on innovation and the shared goal of better outcomes for both housing providers and renters.”
Former CEO of local Florida real estate association charged with theft from organization
Jennifer Garula-Mers, former CEO of the East Polk County Association of Realtors® (EPCAR) in Florida, was arrested on Thursday, November 20, 2025 and charged with grand theft of over $81,000 from the association. The arrest was reported by local newspaper the Lakeland Ledger.
The issue came to light when RJ Webb of Webb’s Realty was elected EPCAR president in 2023. Garula-Mers then denied a request from Webb to turn over the association’s financial documents, a move “initially supported” by the EPCAR Board of Directors. Webb then filed a civil lawsuit against Garula-Mers (let go from EPCAR in August 2024) to obtain the documents.
At a Nov. 21 press conference following the arrest, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said: “When you have an executive director that looks the board of directors in the eyes, looks the president in the eyes—and she works for them—and refuses to produce documents, in our world we call that a clue.”
