It appears the legal battle between CoStar and Zillow is changing venues
CoStar agreed that moving the trial from New York to Washington would likely make the proceedings more efficient for all parties.
It appears the legal battle between Zillow and CoStar will spread across the country.
That’s because CoStar Group will not oppose a motion to transfer the case from the Southern District of New York to Seattle, Washington, according to a filing CoStar filed Wednesday. The case focuses on Zillow’s alleged use of photos with a CoStar watermark and began in the summer.
Zillow previously filed a motion to transfer the case. The portal argued that it made more sense to conduct the trial in that state because the company is headquartered in Washington and most of the witnesses in the case would be based in Washington. Zillow also suggested at the time that CoStar deliberately avoided a Washington filing because of its legal record in the Ninth Circuit, citing a case that VHT, now owned by CoStar, lost against Zillow for showing listing photos in 2022.
Zillow also pointed out in that motion that CoStar has no special ties to New York, as the majority of its employees are based in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore — with only about 4 percent based in New York City, according to LinkedIn data.
In CoStar’s filing on Wednesday, the company explained that it initially filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of New York because many of the CoStar watermarked photos that Zillow allegedly used without permission involved listings in New York. The company also believed that several witnesses would be based in New York, noting that both companies have offices in Manhattan.
But since Zillow has now identified 10 key witnesses in the case, almost all of whom are based in Seattle, CoStar agreed that moving the case to Washington is a wise move.
CoStar also noted that because Zillow is now facing multiple lawsuits in Washington state, including class action lawsuits over the Zillow Flex Agent Program and Zillow Home Loans, it would likely be more efficient for Zillow – and the proceedings in this case generally – to transfer this lawsuit to Washington.
“Because these matters go to the heart of Zillow’s business, it is likely that Zillow senior leadership will be involved in one or both of these proceedings in Seattle in the near future,” the filing said. “On this basis, CoStar recognizes the practical reality that consolidating this matter in the same forum may lead to efficiencies for such witnesses.”
CoStar also used the filing Wednesday to refute earlier claims by Zillow that the lawsuit was part of a “broader playbook” that CoStar is using against its competitors. CoStar called such claims “outlandish,” as Zillow now faces lawsuits from several parties, including the Federal Trade Commission.
“Contrary to Zillow’s tired claims that it is the victim, Zillow has been held (widely) responsible for its many misdeeds,” the filing said. “This lawsuit is just one example.”
Since CoStar filed its copyright infringement lawsuit against Zillow in July, Zillow has removed many of the CoStar watermarked photos in question. However, CoStar has claimed that the company has since added thousands more to its websites, and claims it has also shared those photos with Redfin and Realtor.com through rental syndication deals.
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