Key facts
- MRED suspended listing feeds to Zillow and Trulia, alleging a breach of license agreements.
- Zillow claims MRED and Compass conspired to restrict its access to Chicagoland MLS listing data.
- A court hearing concluded on Zillow's motion for a preliminary injunction in its antitrust case.
- MRED asserts its listing display rules are neutral and objective, not a conspiracy with Compass.
- Compass claims it acted unilaterally in complaining about Zillow's listing policies.
The legal battle between real estate portal Zillow and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), a Chicagoland MLS, along with real estate firm Compass International Holdings, continues as parties await a ruling on Zillow's motion for a preliminary injunction. MRED recently suspended its IDX and VOW listing data feeds to Zillow and Trulia, citing an alleged material breach of license agreements by Zillow for failing to display all provided listings. Zillow, however, contends that MRED and Compass conspired to cut off its access to the MLS listing feed, framing the dispute as an antitrust issue.
During a recent two-day hearing, Zillow argued that MRED altered its objective criteria for filtering IDX data at Compass's behest, specifically targeting Zillow's policy that requires listings to be available on IDX or VOW feed-powered websites within one business day of public marketing. Zillow asserts this policy promotes transparency and consumer access to inventory, while MRED's enforcement harms competition and protects Compass's business model, particularly its practice of marketing properties as private exclusives before public listing.
MRED countered that its rules are neutral, stemming from a 2008 Department of Justice settlement, and that Zillow violated them by filtering listings based on marketing history, which is not an allowed objective criterion. MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen testified that Zillow's policy may violate IDX display rules and that the company proceeded despite knowing this. Compass, through its CEO Robert Reffkin, denied conspiring with MRED, stating Compass acted unilaterally in complaining about Zillow's listing bans. Reffkin also testified that Zillow executives threatened to use 'carrots and sticks' to prevent brokers from marketing listings outside of Zillow, which Compass views as anticompetitive.
Judge John Tharp is now reviewing arguments from the hearing and post-hearing briefs to decide on Zillow's preliminary injunction motion. The ruling could take weeks or months. Separately, Zillow's antitrust lawsuit against MRED and MRED's motion to compel arbitration remain under advisement.