Move seeks injunction while CoStar remains defiant 

The legal battle between portal rivals Homes.com and Realtor.com continued this week with lawyers for Move — the parent company of Realtor.com — asking the court to grant a preliminary injunction against CoStar.

Move requested the injunction to protect trade secrets the company alleges CoStar and a former Realtor.com employee accessed. Additionally, Move lawyers filed nearly 500 pages of declarations from Realtor.com employees and Move's legal counsel.

What are the trade secrets involved? While a hearing earlier in the month helped shine some light on the trade secrets Move lawyers say were accessed by former employee James Kaminsky and CoStar, yesterday's filings specifically highlight five documents that relate to Realtor.com's audience and revenue strategy, business and growth plans, editorial budget, and employee information. 

Why Move seeks an injunction: Lawyers for Move said the five documents "contain large amounts of confidential information about Move's successful content creation platform" as well as Realtor.com's "formula for increasing search engine optimization." 

Because the two competitors are engaged "in a well-publicized battle for website traffic" and because CoStar "cannot be trusted to police themselves," according to Move lawyers, the request for an injunction would "stop further misappropriation of specific trade secrets."

"The misappropriated information plainly benefits CoStar," Move lawyers wrote. "This is especially true here because CoStar has struggled to grow traffic using search engine optimization. There is a strong inference that Mr. Kaminsky misappropriated the trade secrets to benefit CoStar."

Why CoStar is targeted: In the filings, Move lawyers suggest that CoStar is "vicariously liable for its employee's conduct" and commented on the blasé attitude and remarks from CoStar leadership — specifically from CEO Andy Florance, who has referred to the claims as "laughable" and a "PR stunt," and corporate counsel Gene Boxer — that downplay the severity of the matter. 

"One might expect that, after Mr. Kaminsky's cyber intrusion came to light, CoStar would admonish its employee and take immediate action to prevent further wrongdoing," Move lawyers wrote. "But that did not happen. Instead, CoStar ratified the misconduct by rushing to Mr. Kaminsky's defense and attacking Move."

CoStar's response: CoStar remains defiant against the claims and the case. In a statement provided to Real Estate News, Boxer said Move still hasn't shown that any harm was done.

"Move's sense of desperation is palpable," Boxer said. "Its latest filing just repeats the same attorney arguments, without any evidence that CoStar has, or has used, Move documents. We have stated from the beginning that Move's case against CoStar was a PR stunt, and this is just more proof."