CoStar Vs Move Inc: Judge Rejects Move Injunction

A federal district judge has denied a request by Realtor.com parent Move Inc. in its ongoing lawsuit against rival portal operator CoStar.

Judge George H. Wu, of the U.S. District Court for Central California, denied Move's filing to deny CoStar access to what Move believes is proprietary data surrounding a set of documents accessible to former employee James Kaminsky, who joined CoStar earlier this year.

The ruling does not have any material impact on the claims in the case. Still, it will deliver a blow to Move's legal team after multiple comments from its rival company claiming the lawsuit is a "PR stunt" with little to no meaningful meat on the bones.

Judge Wu noted:

"The Court is not persuaded that Move has demonstrated, with evidence, likely, and imminent, irreparable harm, even if it can demonstrate past misappropriation at least on Kaminsky’s part.

"Move has not made the ‘clear showing’ that it should be awarded the ‘extraordinary’ and ‘drastic’ remedy of a preliminary injunction. Move’s motion is denied."

CoStar counsel Gene Boxer replied in tune with CoStar's position throughout the entire legal spat, saying:

"As we have said from the beginning, this case—which Move has tried to weaponize in the press—is a PR stunt in response to the fact that Move is failing in the marketplace."

A spokesperson for Realtor.com (owned by Move Inc) said:

"This ruling is just one step in the process. [The company] looks forward to the discovery period and having our day in court."

Realtor.com found itself in hot water recently when a group of eight realtors sued it for selling low-quality leads to agents.