Key facts
- MRED is seeking arbitration in its antitrust lawsuit against Zillow.
- MRED claims Zillow agreed to arbitrate disputes related to data access agreements.
- Zillow argues the arbitration clauses are unenforceable due to ambiguity.
- MRED requested the court to stay non-arbitrable claims and deny Zillow's preliminary injunction.
- A hearing on Zillow's preliminary injunction motion is set to commence.
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) has requested arbitration in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit with Zillow, just days before a scheduled hearing on Zillow's preliminary injunction motion. In filings submitted on Monday, MRED asserted that Zillow had previously agreed to arbitrate any disputes arising from their IDX and VOW agreements.
Zillow, however, has contested the enforceability of these arbitration clauses, citing ambiguity in the contract's wording. MRED countered this by stating that legal principles and case law support its entitlement to enforce these arbitration clauses, particularly given the intended third-party beneficiary status.
Furthermore, MRED differentiated its "Participation Agreement," which governs access to the MLS database, from its IDX access agreements that are central to the lawsuit and contain their own mandatory arbitration clauses. MRED has asked Judge John Tharp to halt all non-arbitrable claims and reject Zillow's preliminary injunction request, arguing it would be redundant given a prior temporary restraining order already prevented MRED from suspending its listing feed to Zillow.
A Zillow spokesperson criticized MRED's move as an attempt to conduct the proceedings privately, away from public scrutiny. The spokesperson emphasized the public's right to know about the actions of MRED and Compass and to see the matter resolved in open court. The court had not yet ruled on MRED's motion as of Tuesday afternoon. The two-day hearing on Zillow's preliminary injunction, filed in May, was slated to begin Wednesday. The lawsuit itself, also filed in May, alleges that MRED and Compass conspired to withhold listing data and pressured Zillow to display private listings.