Above, Howard “Hoby” Hanna Amid the broader—and increasingly complex—debate over private listings, one of the more independent-minded independent brokerages announced this week that it is launching its own private network as a “strategic initiative,” balancing the demand for so-called “seller choice” with MLS policies the company has previously criticized. HannaList, announced this week by Howard…

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Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. After defeat in Zillow injunction, Compass wants judge to distinguish MLS power In two major legal battles over private listings, Compass is seemingly seeking to draw a distinction between listing service market power…

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Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Trial date set for Gibson suit and final approval granted for five brokerages The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri has set trial to begin on May 1, 2028.…

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U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York has denied Compass’s request for a preliminary injunction against Zillow’s new listing rules (what it calls “Listing Access Standards”), allowing the portal’s new rules to remain in effect while the broader antitrust lawsuit plays out. The decision delivers a significant legal setback for…

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Editor’s note: this story is part two of a two-part series—read part one here. 2025 was another whirlwind year for real estate, with industry professionals facing ups, downs and everything in between. The industry saw a lot of major developments, and it can be hard to keep track of everything—from continued debates over Clear Cooperation…

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Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Compass and Zillow file final hearing documents, await judge’s ruling Compass and Zillow have both filed their final court documents related to the recent hearing in the two companies’ lawsuit over Zillow’s private…

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NEW YORK CITY—U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas heard closing arguments Friday, Nov. 21, capping off a weeklong hearing between real estate giants Zillow and Compass. At the heart of the case is Compass’s Three-Phased Marketing (3-PM) Strategy, which allows homesellers to market properties privately before listing them publicly on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and…

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With Compass and Zillow locked into a high-stakes fight over listing restrictions and market power, company executives testified in federal court for the third day yesterday as Compass leadership addressed the specifics of its private listing-focused strategy, from alleged harm to its business from the Zillow rules, to how it communicated with agents. The trial—officially…

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Ahead of the Nov. 18 hearing over its legal challenge to Zillow’s new listing rules, Compass filed a supplemental brief against the portal, accusing it of weaponizing its dominance in the home portal market to crush competition and force home sellers and agents to list properties on its platform first.  In the pre-hearing brief submitted…

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In a discovery dispute, Compass seeks to compel Redfin, a nonparty in its lawsuit against Zillow, to produce internal communications and documents allegedly showing coordination between Redfin and Zillow. At the same time, a Redfin spokesperson confirmed that the company’s rules restricting private listings had not gone into effect, after being announced almost simultaneously to…

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