Initially filed as two separate lawsuits in late September 2025 earlier than being consolidated in late November, the lawsuit claims that the multifamily rental syndication deal executed by Zillow and Redfin was tantamount to Zillow merely paying Redfin $100 million in trade for it now not competing within the multifamily rental itemizing area. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in mid-January. A listening to on this movement is scheduled for Feb. 25.
Of their most up-to-date submitting, Redfin and Zillow argue that the regulator plaintiffs are ignoring half of the market Zillow and Redfin serve, as each platforms serve each customers and property managers. The defendants argue that the regulators’ grievance solely focuses on how the partnership might hurt property managers and landlords and it ignores the way it advantages renters.
Moreover, Zillow and Redfin pushback in opposition to the regulators’ declare that there’s a nationwide marketplace for paid web itemizing service promoting, arguing as an alternative that rental promoting is native and that property managers promote in particular cities. The defendants additionally contend that the plaintiffs have ignored different promoting choices property managers and landlords can make the most of, like social media and even different on-line platforms.
The businesses additionally argue that the regulators have failed to point out that they’ve sufficient energy to boost costs or management the market. Within the submitting, Redfin and Zillow notice that of their grievance, the regulators didn’t present particular market share numbers, nor did they present that the 2 firms collectively dominate the market. In accordance with Redfin and Zillow, all of this mixed implies that the regulators didn’t present any proof of precise hurt, however as an alternative solely predict attainable future hurt, which they argue just isn’t sufficient for the lawsuit to proceed.
Whereas the events anticipate the courtroom’s ruling on this movement to dismiss, they’ve been engaged in discovery. In a separate standing replace filed on Monday, the events disclosed that they’ve been working collectively to satisfy the invention deadlines set by the courtroom. Up to now within the discovery course of, Zillow has produced roughly 240,000 custodial and 1,100 noncustodial paperwork, whereas Redfin has produced roughly 91,000 custodial and 500 noncustodial paperwork. In addition they informed the courtroom that they’re working collectively to coordinate and schedule defendant depositions.
This replace comes after the court settled a discovery dispute between the events earlier this month, ordering that they have to produce quite a lot of inside and exterior communications and paperwork, in addition to declarations from a number of executives together with Wealthy Barton, Lloyd Frink and Zillow CEO Jeremy Waksman.
