HousingWireHousingWire
CoStar Group has taken the win in the latest round of the battle between the Homes.com parent company and Move, the parent company of Realtor.com.
In a tentative ruling released Monday, Judge George H. Wu of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied Move’s motion for preliminary injunction and limited expedited discovery in its trade secret lawsuit against CoStar.
“The Court is not persuaded that Move has demonstrated, with evidence, likely, and imminent, irreparable harm, even if it can demonstrate past misappropriation at least on Kaminsky’s part,” Wu wrote in his ruling.
“As such, the Court has no need to consider the defendants’ alternative arguments that Move’s alleged slow movement in seeking injunctive relief further demonstrates the absence of any imminent irreparable harm or that the information contained in the alleged trade secrets is ‘stale’ or ‘outdated,’ and therefore not at any risk of CoStar’s future use. Move has not made the ‘clear showing’ that it should be awarded the ‘extraordinary’ and ‘drastic’ remedy of a preliminary injunction. Move’s motion is denied.”
Wu also wrote that Move has “not developed actual evidence to support the required threat of imminent, irreparable harm.” The judge also took issue with Move’s failure to engage in discovery with James Kaminsky, the employee at the center of the legal battle, and he characterized the inconsistencies with Kaminsky’s initial account of the events as “minor/trivial.”
In an emailed statement to HousingWire, CoStar Group general counsel Gene Boxer wrote the firm was “grateful” that the court “saw through Move’s false claims.”
“In a strongly worded opinion, the Court underscores what CoStar has said all along — Move’s case is built on baseless speculation, not fact. In today’s opinion, the Court noted repeatedly that Move had refused to take discovery, even when offered the chance. That is because the truth is anathema to Move’s case,” Boxer wrote.
“Rather, Move preferred to peddle a baseless narrative that CoStar was using Move documents, when there was zero evidence to substantiate that claim. As we have said from the beginning, this case — which Move has tried to weaponize in the press — is a PR stunt in response to the fact that Move is failing in the marketplace.
“Homes.com, based on a ’your listing, your lead’ model, which is both broker and consumer friendly, is accelerating past Move’s failing Realtor.com site. Move’s baseless claim for relief, which fell flat today, cannot change that reality. The Court’s decision on Move’s preliminary injunction should put an end to this dispute. However, if Move continues to press this baseless claim in Court, we will fight and win this dispute on the merits.”
In an emailed statement, a Realtor.com spokesperson wrote that this ruling was just “one step in the process.”
“We look forward to the discovery period and having our day in court,” the spokesperson wrote.
Initially filed in early July, the suit centers on Kaminsky, a former Realtor.com employee who went to work at Homes.com after being laid off by the Move subsidiary. In the suit, Move alleges that Kaminsky stole documents and trade secrets from Realtor.com, which he then provided to CoStar to fuel the rapid growth of Homes.com.
