Compass v. Zillow
Filed in late-June 2025, the lawsuit contends that Zillow’s listing access standards policy, which bans listings that aren’t obtainable for show on Zillow inside one enterprise day of them being publicly marketed, stifles competitors and has brought about irreparable hurt to Compass.
Compass has filed a movement for a preliminary injunction stopping Zillow from implementing the coverage, which they started rolling out nationwide on June 30, 2025. As of early November, Zillow was implementing the coverage in over 500 MLSs nationwide. In mid-October, Zillow printed a post on its investor web site noting that because it started notifying brokers of non-compliant listings over the summer time, roughly 90% of brokers who obtain a discover solely obtain one.
Over the summer time, the 2 events have been engaged in an expedited discovery course of associated to a listening to scheduled for Nov. 18, 2025, concerning Compass’s movement for a preliminary injunction.
In a supplemental brief filed by Compass forward of the listening to, the Robert Reffkin-helmed agency claims to have uncovered proof that Zillow and Redfin, which isn’t a defendant within the lawsuit, however which additionally introduced its personal yet-to-be enforced itemizing entry requirements coverage, colluded to stop competitors.
CoStar v. Zillow
CoStar was the following to file a lawsuit towards Zillow. In its suit filed in late-July in U.S. District Courtroom in Manhattan, CoStar accuses Zillow of “rampant” copyright infringement of itemizing images. The grievance claims that Zillow’s unauthorized use of CoStar pictures quantities to one of many largest real estate picture infringement instances in historical past. The images in questions of rental properties that seem on its website, in addition to on Redfin and Realtor.com, by way of syndication offers.
Final week, Zillow filed a movement to switch the case from the Southern District of New York to a District Courtroom in Seattle, the place the corporate relies. In that movement, Zillow criticized CoStar’s litigation ways, claiming that CoStar intentionally selected a discussion board outdoors the Ninth Circuit, the place Zillow has beforehand gained favorable rulings, and implied that CoStar might have resolved the matter by asking Zillow to take away the images as a substitute of submitting a lawsuit.
This isn’t the primary time Zillow has been sued for copyright infringement. It was beforehand sued by actual property pictures agency VHT and was ordered to pay tens of millions after a jury found it liable.
Herrera v. Zillow
Filed in mid-September in U.S. District Courtroom in Denver by Samuel James Herrera, who calls himself “a day-one Zillow worker,” the lawsuit alleges that Herrera was wrongfully terminated by Zillow in February 2024. In accordance with the grievance, Herrera was pressured out of the corporate after he complained of discrimination.
Within the grievance, Herrera claims that Zillow carried out an intensive investigation into Herrera after a terminated worker accused him of sexual harassment and discrimination. Herrera was cleared within the investigation; nonetheless, he claims that the suggestions he acquired from firm leaders “was stuffed with stereotypes about Hispanic males.”
Herrera’s time at Zillow led to February 2024 after he took a veteran Zillow worker to a five-hour, $724 dinner to ask for recommendation on a tough undertaking. In accordance with the grievance, Herrera had acquired approval for the dinner and that the entire value was “not extraordinary for Zillow working dinners.”
Regardless of this alleged approval, Herrera stated he was terminated for allegedly violating the corporate’s journey and expense coverage.
Zillow has clarified that whereas the corporate was based in 2004, Herrera was not employed till 2010. Moreover, the agency has said that the “claims alleged within the grievance are inconsistent with Zillow’s tradition and values,” and that the agency believes that they’re “with out advantage.”
Regulators v. Zillow
Along with catching the ire of former workers and different actual property trade gamers, a few of Zillow’s actions have additionally caught the eye of each state and federal regulators.
In mid-February 2025, Zillow introduced a $100 million multifamily rental syndication deal with Redfin. By means of the partnership, Zillow grew to become the unique supplier of multifamily listings on Redfin, Lease.com and ApartmentGuide.com.
This apparently piqued the curiosity of each the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) and attorneys normal in Virginia, Arizona, Connecticut, New York and Washington. In late September, the FTC filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia, by which it claimed that Redfin and Zillow conspired to get rid of competitors within the rental itemizing area and that their syndication settlement violates antitrust legal guidelines. This swimsuit was adopted a day later by one filed by the five states’ attorneys general with an identical claims.
Zillow has maintained that the deal “advantages each renters and property managers and has expanded renters’ entry to multifamily listings throughout a number of platforms.”
The swimsuit has been stayed pending the decision of the federal government shutdown.
The RESPA claims
To high issues off, Zillow is now going through two lawsuits claiming that it has violated RESPA. The 2 fits each contain Zillow’s Flex and Premier Agent packages, however they differ of their claims.
The first lawsuit was filed by dwelling purchaser plaintiff Alucard Taylor in U.S. District Courtroom in Seattle in mid-September. The lawsuit alleges that the portal tips customers into utilizing brokers affiliated with Zillow by way of its Flex and Premier Agent programs, leading to inflated dwelling buy costs.
Taylor is being represented by Steve W. Berman, a named associate at class motion litigation agency Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, the identical agency that represented plaintiffs within the Moehrl commission lawsuit.
In accordance with the grievance, Zillow has furthered its “scheme” to drive up agent commissions by way of its listing standards policy.
“This coverage successfully requires sellers and their brokers to forgo utilizing different preliminary strategies to promote the house sale. The impact of this coverage is to inflate the unjustly earned earnings Zillow receives from its misleading conduct, because it continues to extend its dominance of the market,” the submitting states.
However Taylor just isn’t the one homebuyer plaintiff suing Zillow. Final week, homebuyer plaintiff Araba Armstrong filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Courtroom in Seattle claiming that Zillow used unlawful kickbacks to bolster the fast development of its ZHL mortgage enterprise.
In accordance with the grievance, Zillow pressures brokers in its Premier Agent and Flex lead packages to steer patrons to Zillow Residence Loans for his or her buy mortgage pre-approval. Allegedly, brokers who despatched extra shoppers to Zillow’s mortgage arm for his or her pre-approvals acquired additional or higher-quality leads in trade. If brokers within the Flex program fail to ship a ample variety of results in ZHL for pre-approval, they threat being faraway from this system.
A Zillow spokesperson clarified that there are a variety of things Zillow considers and several other necessities an agent should meet to be a part of the Zillow Flex program. Zillow stated that this record of things is examined when contemplating to scale back plenty of leads an agent receives, take away them from this system or improve the variety of leads they obtain.
This isn’t the primary time Zillow has handled allegations of a RESPA violation associated to its mortgage program. In 2023, previous to the launch of ZHL, Zillow settled a category motion lawsuit associated to its mortgage co-marketing program. This system was additionally allegedly under investigation by the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau (CFPB), however the investigation was dropped with out the CFPB issuing an enforcement motion.
