The infamous Zillow lawsuit between Zillow, the National Association of Realtors and and Move Inc. has finally settled. The lawsuit alleged that Zillow, an online real estate database company hired two executive from Move Inc, a network of real estate websites, who stole trade secrets. Zillow will pay $130 million to settle. All parties agree the settlement was peaceful and they can all move on.
“We are pleased that the parties have reached an amicable resolution,” said National Association of REALTORS® President Tom Salomone, in a prepared statement released late Monday.
“Today, we reached an amicable resolution to settle our lawsuit with News Corp. and the National Association of Realtors,” said Zillow spokeswoman Amanda Woolley in an emailed statement. “The agreement allows us to put this litigation behind us, and continue our focus on innovation and the huge opportunity in front of us as the consumer-focused market leader.”
In 2014, Zillow hired Errol Samuelson as their chief industry-development officer. He had previously been president of realtor.com, which is under Move Inc. Move sued Zillow two weeks after this hire. Again, they sued when Zillow hired another one of Move’s executives, Curt Beardsley. In July 2014, Zillow acquired the company Trulia, another online real estate source, for $2.5 billion. Move Inc. asserted that private information from Samuelson was used to complete this transaction. Move’s websites like realtor.com compete with those such as Trulia. Their trial was supposed to start this month. NAR will receive 10 percent of the $130 billion, but the rest will go to Move.
While big online real estate websites can sometimes be helpful, nothing is as effective as speaking to an agent themselves. The Zillow lawsuit exemplifies the complications that come from big companies. If you are looking for a home in Miami, RE/MAX Paradise will give you personalized and professional guidance. Check out our amazing properties and contact an agent today!