Zillow asks court for restraining order to restore MRED data feed
After the MLS cut Zillow’s feeds — a “dramatic and unprecedented decision,” per a court filing — the portal requested an emergency order to reinstate access.
The impasse between Zillow and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) appears to remain firmly in place following the Chicagoland MLS's May 20 decision to cut listing data feeds to the search giant.
Today, Zillow filed a motion asking an Illinois District Court for a temporary restraining order to "immediately reinstate" the portal's access to MRED's listing feeds and prevent the MLS and Compass from furthering their alleged "group boycott conspiracy" against Zillow.
More details on the motion: Zillow's May 21 filing reiterates many of the claims previously laid out in its lawsuit against Compass and MRED, filed on May 12.
The motion refers to MRED as "the monopolist multiple listing service in Chicagoland" and describes its move to terminate Zillow's access to the MLS's listing feeds as a "dramatic and unprecedented decision."
"Panicked Chicagoland agents have rushed to the phone lines to ask Zillow when MRED will restore their listings and explain the immediate harms to their independent businesses," the motion states.
Irreparable harm: In addition to harming agents, the portal alleges that MRED's suspension of its listing feeds means that Zillow is "effectively foreclosed from competing with Compass and MRED in Chicagoland."
"There is no way to quantify the monumental and irreparable harms that Defendants' listings blackout already has begun to inflict on Zillow's business in the region, to agents, to the public, and to the market, and particularly to the nascent Zillow Preview offering," the motion continues, arguing that a temporary restraining order is the only remedy.
How we got here: In April 2025, Zillow announced new listing access standards prohibiting listings that had previously been selectively marketed, such as those first listed as "exclusives" via Compass' 3-phased marketing strategy — a move that led Compass to sue Zillow two months later. Compass later dropped its lawsuit.
Last fall, Compass International Holdings Chairman and CEO Robert Reffkin reached out to a number of MLSs in Compass-heavy markets asking them "to terminate Zillow's listing feeds," according to a court filing. MRED President and CEO Rebecca Jensen appeared to agree with Compass' stance, threatening to suspend Zillow's feed, leading the search giant to delay enforcement of its listing standards in the region.
But after MRED opened access to agents nationwide in late April — with Compass as its first brokerage partner — the playing field changed. Jensen emailed Zillow in May warning that MRED would revoke the portal's feed access "if Zillow did not display certain Compass listings nationwide."
Zillow declined to comply, but attempted to prevent the feed suspension through a preliminary injunction on May 18. The portal also reached out to Chicago-area agents and brokers with instructions for setting up a direct listing feed with Zillow.
Those efforts didn't stop MRED from following through on its threat, cutting Zillow's access on May 20. In announcing its decision, MRED said Zillow had violated its licensing agreement, and the MLS was simply enforcing its rules, framing Zillow's lack of compliance as an act of defiance by a company that demanded "the right" to exclude listings "it disfavors."
"Zillow has effectively decided not to display 99.98% of MRED's listings on its platforms because it, in its own judgment, disagrees with the lawful marketing strategy associated with the remaining 0.02% of listings," MRED wrote in a news release.