Antitrust has been a loaded topic in real estate since at least the commission lawsuits of the 2020s that alleged many foundational rules and practices in real estate violated antitrust laws, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) launching its own parallel inquiry. Now, federal agencies are looking to review and revise existing antitrust guidelines, the…
A federal judge in Chicago has granted preliminary approval to settlement agreements with more than 20 real estate companies in a major antitrust lawsuit filed by recent homebuyers challenging commission practices in the residential real estate market. On May 26, U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins approved opt-in agreements in the case Tuccori v. At…
The “high-stakes” Chicago-based legal battle between Zillow, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) and Compass continued to evolve today as parties argued expectations about discovery and the path ahead for the case. Following a hearing last Friday where Judge John Tharp stepped between the parties in regard to the cut off of listing feeds from MRED…
Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Zillow regains Chicagoland’s listing feed after court order On Friday, May 22, Judge John Tharp ordered MRED to continue feeding Zillow listings after Zillow filed a temporary restraining order against the MLS the…
The majority of listings in the Chicago area disappeared from Zillow this morning, around eight hours after a midnight deadline set by local MLS Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), marking a dramatic escalation in a bitter, high-stakes dispute over restrictions on “private listings” that is playing out nationwide. A sharply-worded announcement from MRED that went…
Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Zillow sues Compass, MRED; Claims Compass engaging in “illegal conspiracy” On May 12, Zillow filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that, early this month, Chicago-based MLS MRED “demanded that Zillow reinstate Compass private listings…
In a court filing in federal court in Washington on Sunday, May 17, Northwest MLS (NWMLS) is accusing mega-brokerage Compass of promising, then failing to produce documents, datasets and communications in a lawsuit over private listing rules, as both parties have accused each other of anti-competitive practices. The lawsuit, filed by Compass a little over…
Rocket Mortgage filed a lawsuit against United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) on May 14, seeking nearly $100 million in damages for allegedly breaching a non-solicitation agreement tied to mortgage servicing rights purchases, according to a complaint filed in the New York Supreme Court’s Commercial Division. The lawsuit centers on three bundles of mortgage servicing rights that…
For a quarter century, Carla DeYoung was part of the system. She held a real estate license, paid her dues to the local association, the state association and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). She played by the rules because she believed in them. Then the rules changed in ways she believed crossed a line.…
When Rocket Companies and Zillow find themselves in the crosshairs of federal litigation over alleged referral kickbacks, the industry takes notice. As the headlines fixate on the big players, a quieter anxiety is building among independent mortgage bankers (IMBs) and smaller lenders who lack the firepower to go toe-to-toe in a prolonged legal battle. The…
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