Court orders Compass to share Anywhere deal docs with Zillow
The judge denied the portal’s request to further depose Robert Reffkin, however. Separately, Zillow says Compass hasn’t offered “evidence of irreparable harm.”
Zillow notched a win this week in its legal battle with Compass, with a district court granting a request to order the brokerage giant to turn over documents related to its proposed acquisition of Anywhere.
On Oct. 6, Judge Jeannette A. Vargas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted — in part — Zillow's ask for more discovery before the judge rules on Compass's request for a preliminary injunction of Zillow's private listings ban.
What the court says Zillow can demand: According to Vargas, certain disclosures Compass made during its negotiations with Anywhere "bear directly on the issue of irreparable harm."
As a result, the court is allowing Zillow to ask Compass for:
All disclosures made by Compass about Zillow's Listing Access Standards in connection with the acquisition
All communications between Compass and Anywhere about the standards, including "the current impact or expected future impact" of the standards on Compass or its stock value
All communications between Compass and Anywhere regarding the lawsuit
But Zillow can't re-depose Reffkin: Zillow also asked for a court order to allow a supplemental two-hour deposition of Reffkin about the Anywhere deal, but Vargas denied that request, saying Zillow had "not demonstrated good cause for the reopening of this deposition."
Zillow asks court to rule without an injunction hearing: The court is currently scheduled to hold an evidentiary hearing from Nov. 18-21 to consider Compass's motion for a preliminary injunction.
But in a letter, also dated Oct. 6, Zillow asked the court for guidance on the scope of the hearing, asserting that Compass hadn't provided "actual, non-speculative evidence of irreparable harm" and therefore "no live testimony or evidentiary hearing is necessary because the [preliminary injunction] Motion can and should be denied on the papers."
Zillow asked the court to either:
Have the parties file short briefs in the next two weeks on the issue so the court has enough time to determine whether live testimony is necessary
Postpone the hearing to December (or the court's next available date) so the parties have enough time to tailor its scope, per the court's guidance