Lofty launches ‘CIPA Defense Program,’ sues ‘serial litigant’
The proptech firm says brokerages are receiving templated demand letters alleging California Invasion of Privacy Act violations. Lofty is fighting back.
Key points:
- Lofty is sounding the alarm about “templated demand letters” from “serial litigants” accusing real estate brokerages of violating California’s Invasion of Privacy Act.
- The proptech firm has launched the Lofty CIPA Defense Program, an included customer benefit that aims to help those who receive these letters.
- Lofty has also filed a lawsuit against one such serial litigant who the company alleges “sent hundreds or possibly thousands” of demand letters — including one that Lofty received.
Proptech firm Lofty is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to compliance with a law that is being used to target real estate brokerages: the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).
Fighting 'serial litigants'
In 2024, Zillow and Redfin were sued by the same plaintiff under the CIPA. Both companies were accused of using tracking pixels and other third-party tracking technology to gather and share personal data without users' consent. Those cases were ultimately voluntarily dismissed — but according to Lofty, real estate brokerages across the country have faced the threat of similar legal action under the same law.
"Serial litigants often send templated demand letters to real estate professionals, claiming that standard website analytics tools like Google Analytics violate" the CIPA, Lofty says on its website. "These letters typically demand up to $50,000, with settlements commonly ranging between $5,000 and $15,000."
In response, Lofty, a majority-owned subsidiary of Moatable, has taken two significant actions: It has launched a legal defense program that is free for its customers and sued a serial CIPA litigant.
The Lofty defense program
Lofty, formerly Chime Technologies, offers an agentic AI operating system designed to autonomously manage workflows for brokerages and agents. Its platform powers more than 30,000 websites for more than 91,000 real estate professionals nationwide.
On July 9, the company rolled out the Lofty CIPA Defense Program, which offers Lofty customers a review and written assessment of a demand letter; a formal legal "substantive" response to the claimant defending the customer; legal support and coordination to defend the customer if a formal complaint is filed; and ongoing case updates so customers don't have to manage the process themselves.
"Lofty believes the legal theory behind these demands is meritless," the company said, noting that California's law was designed to regulate telephone surveillance — not commercial website analytics. "Lofty has researched this issue thoroughly, is confident in the compliance of its platform, and has established this program to ensure no Lofty customer faces this threat alone."
Lofty said it will not pressure customers to settle. The company's goal "is dismissal, not settlement, discouraging customers from paying claims that lack merit."
The program applies to CIPA-related demand letters and litigation targeting the use of Lofty's standard analytics tools on Lofty-hosted websites. The program is open to active clients and new clients currently on a rival platform who receive a CIPA demand letter and subsequently migrate to Lofty.
The company encourages existing customers who have received a demand letter to complete a contact form at Lofty's online Help Center.
Suing a suer
Last week, Lofty filed suit against Vivek Shah, a CIPA tester who, representing himself, has filed at least 19 lawsuits under the CIPA. In its July 8 complaint, Lofty asks the court to declare "that the operation of Lofty's commercial website platform, including its use of standard, widely deployed website analytics tools, does not violate" the CIPA.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges Shah "sent hundreds or possibly thousands of templated [CIPA] demand letters to businesses across the United States," including a letter Lofty received on June 13 that attached a draft complaint that was "ready to be filed … should this matter remain unresolved."
Shah's draft complaint alleges Lofty engaged in "unlawful internet surveillance" by causing "third-party tracking code to execute" in the browser of a Lofty website visitor and "transmit addressing/signaling information — including the visitor's internet protocol ('IP') address and related device/browser identifiers — to third parties for marketing, analytics, attribution, and profiling" without the user's consent.
Lofty filed its own complaint in response so that the company, its employees and its customers "may have certainty as to the legality of their conduct and peace of mind that they will not be subjected to ongoing threats to their businesses," the filing said.
If Lofty's analytics tools are deemed illegal under CIPA, Lofty would have to significantly re-architecture its platform, requiring "months of staff resources, procurement of new technology, and implementation cost across [the Lofty] platform," the complaint noted.