Key facts
- The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's ruling to send a lawsuit alleging fake leads to arbitration.
- The appeals court declined the plaintiffs' petition to rehear the appeal en banc.
- The lawsuit claims Realtor.com leads were fake, nonexistent, or failed to meet expectations.
- The lower court's dismissal was deemed "functionally indistinguishable from a stay."
- The arbitration proceedings will largely be blocked from public view.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's decision to send a lawsuit alleging that Realtor.com parent company Move sold real estate agents fake leads to arbitration. Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit declined the plaintiffs' petition for an en banc rehearing. This follows the appeals court's dismissal of the initial appeal in mid-August, where it stated that the lower court's order to proceed with arbitration and dismiss the suit did not constitute a final, appealable judgment.