Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate.
Supreme Court denies review in REX v. Zillow
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court has denied review in the REX v. Zillow case.
A Zillow spokesperson gave RISMedia the following statement.
“We’re pleased this matter has reached the conclusion we expected and that the court at every level has affirmed Zillow’s position. Zillow was founded on increasing transparency in real estate, and we have a long history of advocating for practices and launching products that do just that. This decision reinforces our long-standing commitment to transparency, innovation and prioritizing consumers.”
An NAR spokesperson provided the following statement.
“As we have said from day one, NAR’s optional no-commingling rule was not an antitrust violation. Both the district court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this, and we are pleased their rulings will stand. Local MLSs play a key role in fostering transparent, competitive, and fair housing markets by delivering consumers the most accurate and up-to-date information on home listings. While the optional rule is no longer in effect, NAR remains committed to protecting the benefits MLSs provide agents, consumers, and the industry.”
The case, first filed in March 2021, came after Zillow’s website redesign to comply with the National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) optional no-comingling rule, which REX claimed disadvantaged brokers operating outside of the MLS, as it did.
After a judge ruled the antitrust claim had no merit and removed NAR from the suit in August 2023, a jury in Seattle ruled that Zillow’s actions did not harm REX, in September 2023. REX then appealed to the Ninth Circuit, after which the Department of Justice (DOJ) inserted itself into the lawsuit.
In mid-February, the DOJ argued that NAR’s no-comingling rule required Zillow to segregate non-MLS listings, stifling competition. NAR quietly dropped the no-commingling rule earlier this year, after Zillow said most MLSs had already abandoned it—at least partly due to DOJ pressure.
Trial date set for PLS.com v. NAR
In a lawsuit originally filed back in 2020, PLS.com refiled its antitrust lawsuit against NAR earlier this year on July 1, seeking a trial by jury. This past Friday, PLS.com got its wish.
A trial date has been set by Judge John W. Holcomb for a jury trial on Sept. 27, 2027. Discovery cut-off is April 30, 2027 and the last date to conduct a settlement conference is May 21, 2027.
The PLS.com v. NAR suit accuses NAR and big MLSs of conspiring on rules that hindered competition in the listing service market. Given the rise of pocket listings that PLS helped fuel, NAR and affiliated MLSs were allegedly threatened, according to the court filing, with the Clear Cooperation Policy one of the rules that violates antitrust statutes.
Zillow and CoStar have first hearing in copyright infringement suit
Last week, on Oct. 15, during a hearing for the copyright lawsuit filed by CoStar against Zillow, a judge ordered both parties to submit more detailed arguments regarding the proper venue for the lawsuit, with CoStar preferring New York and Zillow Seattle.
CoStar attorneys say the case involves “more than a quarter of a million instances of infringement on Zillow.com” from allegedly CoStar-copyrighted images.
Though CoStar previously said that at least some of these photos were uploaded by property owners, the company has also alleged both direct copyright violations and “vicarious” infringement.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a statement from the NAR regarding the REX v. Zillow case.
