FTC lawsuit paused amid shutdown; CoStar hits back at Zillow 

A U.S. district judge hit pause on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) antitrust lawsuit against Zillow and Redfin amid the federal government shutdown.

Meanwhile, CoStar responds to Zillow's latest claims in a copyright lawsuit filed over the summer, attorneys fees are approved in the Nosalek case and the former CEO of the San Diego Association of Realtors is close to a deal in his wrongful termination suit.

Government shutdown pauses FTC suit against Zillow, Redfin 

On Oct. 6, Judge Anthony Trenga of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the FTC's motion to stay its antitrust case against Zillow and Redfin due to the government shutdown. 

In its request, the federal agency said it lacks the funds to continue operating and does not know when Congress will restore its funding. The FTC's attorneys are largely prohibited from working during the shutdown, the request added.

Trenga granted the stay for the duration of the shutdown. Once the government resumes normal operations, Trenga ordered the parties to meet so they can set new proposed case deadlines.

CoStar hits back against Zillow in new letter

CoStar is hitting back against claims that its copyright lawsuit against Zillow fails to meet the requirements needed to prove its allegations. CoStar addressed the claims in an Oct. 3 letter, which was filed after Zillow was granted a hearing before filing a motion to dismiss the case.

CoStar stressed that its complaint hones in on actions made by Zillow itself — not its users, as Zillow alleges. "CoStar adequately alleges that Zillow itself — and not at the prompting of its users — copies and displays CoStar images to build 'unclaimed' property pages," the Oct. 3 letter said.

"Zillow builds these pages to invite property owners to 'claim' the property and sell them listing advertisements. When a property owner purchases a listing advertisement, Zillow provides the owner the CoStar photos that Zillow copied and displayed," it continued.

CoStar's letter also alleged that Zillow "uses CoStar images to power core website features like Zestimates and user recommendations."

Judge in Nosalek case approves attorney fees

Now that the $3.95 million settlement between the Nosalek home seller plaintiffs and MLS PIN has received final approval, Judge Patti B. Saris has granted the plaintiffs' motion to award attorneys' fees of $1,315,350 — or one-third of the settlement funds — to class counsel Izard Kindall & Raabe LLP and Hausfeld LLP.

The firm incurred fees totaling more than $5 million for nearly 7,900 hours of work, according to Saris. The award amount "is in line with awards in other complex class action cases," the Oct. 2 order said.

Deal between San Diego Association of Realtors, former CEO nears

Michael Mercurio, the former CEO of the San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR), is "very close to settling" a wrongful termination suit that he filed against the association and the San Diego Multiple Listing Service, according to an Oct. 3 court filing.

Mercurio filed the suit in April, alleging wrongful termination after former SDAR executives accused him of embezzling more than $1 million from the association. Those former execs are currently suing both Mercurio and SDAR.

The association has seen multiple leadership changes since Mercurio was removed in July 2023. He was succeeded as CEO by Cory Shepard, a former GM at Coldwell Banker West, who served for less than 18 months before being replaced in Dec. 2024 by Tessa Hultz, a two-decade association management veteran.

The court has vacated any future hearings in the case. The parties must file their dismissal within 120 days.