FTC vs. Zillow discovery proceeds; settlements in SDAR, eXp cases 

Zillow, FTC make nice as discovery continues

After squabbling over a procedural issue last week, Zillow and the Federal Trade Commission appear to have resolved their disagreements over discovery, according to a Jan. 27 court filing. 

The complaint, brought last fall by the FTC and five states, claims that Zillow and Redfin illegally conspired to eliminate competition in the rental listings market when they formed a rentals syndication partnership last February.

In a joint status report filed on Jan. 19, Zillow objected to the FTC's request to obtain materials from three executives — the search portal's two co-founders and its current CEO — arguing that the execs had no relevant information to disclose and any materials they provided were "likely to be duplicative."

A follow-up status report filed Jan. 27 indicated the parties "have continued to work productively and efficiently to come to agreement on a number of issues" and noted that Zillow and Redfin had collectively handed over more than 500 documents, with more to come.

Former SDAR CEO settles in wrongful termination case

Michael Mercurio, who was removed from his role as CEO of the San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) in July 2023 after former SDAR executives accused him of embezzling more than $1 million from the organization, appears to have reached a settlement in the wrongful termination lawsuit he filed against SDAR last April. 

An Oct. 2025 court filing indicated that Mercurio and SDAR were close to a deal; a dismissal notice subsequently filed with the California Superior Court on Jan. 27 suggests a settlement has been reached. The most recent filing states that the case will be dismissed without prejudice — meaning it could be refiled later — on Mar. 4 barring any further action by the court or the parties to the lawsuit. 

The notice did not include any details about the potential settlement. 

While this appears to close one chapter in the legal battles facing SDAR, another case is ongoing. A July 2023 lawsuit, which names both the association and Mercurio as defendants, was filed by the four former SDAR employees who brought the embezzlement claims to light and is scheduled for trial in Oct. 2026. The ex-employees — all senior-level staff at the association — claim they were unjustly terminated after bringing their allegations to the SDAR board of directors.

eXp recruiter dismissed from sexual misconduct case 

Brent Gove, an eXp mega-recruiter with an organization of more than 18,000 agents, according to his website, has reached a settlement in a case brought by Florida eXp agent Anya Roberts.

Roberts filed a lawsuit in Dec. 2023 naming Gove, eXp Realty and parent company eXp World Holdings, eXp Founder Glenn Sanford, former eXp agents Michael Bjorkman and David Golden, and two other individuals as defendants. 

In her complaint, Roberts alleged that she was drugged and sexually assaulted during an eXp recruiting event in Mexico, and that company leadership turned a blind eye to bad behavior. Bjorkman and Golden were named as the key perpetrators in the assault. 

Sanford, Gove and eXp were dismissed from the suit in May 2024, but Roberts filed an amended complaint the following month naming all of the original defendants. 

Gove was called out in the amended complaint for alleged retaliation, with Robert's lawyers stating that "to this day, Defendant Gove continues to attempt to harm and impact Ms. Roberts by communicating with her downline about this case." 

Earlier this month, however, Roberts filed a notice with the court stating that she and Gove "have reached a confidential settlement fully and finally resolving all claims asserted by Plaintiff against Defendant Brent Gove only." 

The judge in the case granted the motion on Jan. 21, dismissing the claims against Gove without prejudice but noting that "the action remains pending as to all other Defendants, and Plaintiff may proceed with litigation against the non-settling Defendants."

LGBTQ+ Alliance adds defamation claim in case against former CEO

A real estate trade group has made new allegations in an amended complaint filed in a U.S. District Court last week. 

The LGBTQ+ Alliance is now accusing Ryan Weyandt, who founded and led the organization as CEO from 2020 to 2024, of defamation in addition to claims included in an earlier filing.

The original complaint, filed in July 2025, alleged that Weyandt violated state and federal trade secrets laws by accessing the Alliance's contact list and sending an email to its 10,000+ recipients criticizing the organization's fiduciary management. The Alliance further alleged that Weyandt locked employees out of their email accounts, accessed several of the organization's accounts without permission and interfered with the Alliance's business relationships.

The first amended complaint, filed on Jan. 22, claims Weyandt also knowingly "made several false and derogatory statements" about the Alliance that have harmed the organization's reputation and "caused third-parties to cease their relationship(s)" with the Alliance. 

"The statements made by Defendant on or around June 25, 2025 and July 2, 2025 have lowered and tend to lower Alliance's reputation and estimation in the LGBTQ+ and real estate communities and industries, and more broadly, the community," the amended complaint states. The Alliance estimates damages resulting from the alleged defamation of at least $50,000. 

Weyandt has 14 days from the filing date to respond, according to court documents.