CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) has filed an amicus brief opposing a motion by Zillow (NASDAQ: Z, ZG) for a preliminary injunction in Zillow v. MRED.
Two weeks ago, a federal judge ordered the Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) to restore Zillow’s access to its multiple listing service while also ordering Zillow to display nine Chicago-area listings from Compass that it blocked under its policy prohibiting private listings. This followed MRED’s decision to block Zillow from accessing its licensed listing data feeds for display on Zillow’s consumer-facing websites. That, in turn, followed Zillow’s federal antitrust lawsuit against MRED and Compass, which claimed the companies threatened to terminate its Chicago-area listings unless Zillow agreed to display Compass’ private listings nationwide.
Zillow’s policies prohibit private listings on its platforms and the judge’s ruling did not require Zillow to end its policy in other markets.
The CoStar Group’s brief questions why Zillow is seeking court-ordered access to MLS listings while it is also restricting its competitors from having access to its exclusive pre-market listings in Zillow Previews. CoStar alleges Zillow’s is stifling competition while trying to consolidate control over residential listing inventory.
“Zillow wants a court order forcing MLSs to hand over their listings while Zillow hoards its own exclusive pre-market inventory—a breathtaking ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ proposition,” said Gene Boxer, CoStar Group’s general counsel. “The court should see this motion for what it is: an attempt to weaponize the judicial system to entrench Zillow’s dominance at the expense of competition, consumers, and the MLS system that has served the industry for decades.
“Zillow’s strategy is simple and troubling: use its dominance to replace the non-profit MLS system with a Zillow-controlled ecosystem, locking out competitors while forcing MLSs to keep feeding Zillow data until Zillow no longer needs them,” Boxer added. “This is not a company defending consumer choice—this is a company that the FTC already sued for paying a rival to stop competing, that faces class actions for steering consumers to overpriced mortgages, and that feasts on the 99.7% of its users who don’t know who they’re contacting when they click ‘Contact Agent’ on Zillow’s platform. Zillow’s motion is a message to every MLS in the country: don’t interfere with Zillow’s takeover, or face litigation. CoStar filed this amicus brief because the court deserves the full picture, and the full picture reveals that Zillow’s claims of concern for consumers and competition are a smokescreen for its own anticompetitive ambitions.”
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