CoStar Group Derides "Embarrassment" Class Action Lawsuit

CoStar Group denied claims that it is locking agents into Loopnet after a class action lawsuit was brought against it this week.

The broker David Shapiro alleged CoStar has locked him into an exclusivity agreement with Loopnet, but CoStar general counsel Gene Boxer said CoStar customers are free to share their own listings on other platforms, "as our written terms of use make crystal clear."

Brand and Co, run by David Shapiro, filed against CoStar alleging that the company precludes competing marketplaces, a claim CoStar dismissed as "nonsensical," counterarguing that Brand & Co. has multiple listings for the same properties on LoopNet and a competing marketplace.

A company spokesperson said:

"This lawsuit is an embarrassment. The entire premise of the complaint is that brokers are ‘locked’ into using CoStar’s LoopNet and ‘locked out’ of competing platforms—yet the plaintiff broker himself actively lists his brokerage’s properties on a major CoStar competitor’s site. You can’t make it up."

Boxer added: "The counterfactual complaint—brought by a plaintiff whose own listings undermine its case—is riddled with overheated hyperbole, factual errors, misleading characterizations, and fundamental misunderstandings of our business practices. CoStar will vigorously defend against these baseless allegations and will prevail.”