Court dismisses Move’s trade secret claims against CoStar

CoStar has notched yet another procedural win successful its legal battle with Move, the genitor institution of Realtor.com.

In a ruling issued Tuesday, Judge George H. Wu of U.S. District Court successful Los Angeles granted CoStar’s question to disregard 2 of Move’s claims successful its archetypal amended complaint.

The claims alleged violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, arsenic good arsenic the Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, which were the plaintiffs’ 2 statutory national and authorities commercialized concealed claims. Both claims were aimed astatine CoStar and James Kaminsky, the erstwhile Realtor.com worker astatine the halfway of the ineligible battle.

Under the presumption of Wu’s ruling, Move has the accidental to amend its claims and refile its ailment wrong 3 weeks. In an email, a Realtor.com spokesperson confirmed that the institution plans to further prosecute litigation.

“We are pleased that the justice rejected each but 1 of CoStar’s arguments. We program to proceed with each six of our claims aft making insignificant adjustments, per the judge’s instructions,” the spokesperson wrote. “We look guardant to moving up with our claims successful the find process and having our time successful court.”

Initially filed by Move successful July, the suit centers connected Kaminsky, a former Realtor.com employee who went to enactment astatine CoStar-backed Homes.com after being laid disconnected by the Move subsidiary. In the suit, Move alleges that Kaminsky stole documents and commercialized secrets from Realtor.com, which helium past provided to CoStar to substance the rapid growth of Homes.com.

In total, Move’s archetypal amended ailment had six claims. Two of them were aimed astatine CoStar and Kaminsky and dealt with commercialized concealed misappropriation claims. The 2 different claims were aimed solely astatine Kaminsky and allege a breach of declaration and promissory fraud.

In his ruling, Wu called Move’s allegation conclusory and wrote that the tribunal is “not alert of immoderate different allegation elsewhere successful the [first amended complaint] that provides immoderate much detail, oregon facts, successful enactment of a ‘damage oregon loss’ allegation tied to Plaintiffs’” commercialized concealed claims.

Additionally, Wu notes that successful its complaint, Move did “not see allegations of ‘expending important resources responding to and assessing Mr. Kaminsky’s breach.”

While Wu did permission it unfastened to let Move to record an amended complain, helium besides wrote that “CoStar whitethorn precise good beryllium capable to factually found a disconnect betwixt the documents Kaminsky accessed and Kaminsky’s relation astatine CoStar astatine a aboriginal signifier of this case.”

In an email, a CoStar spokesperson wrote that the steadfast is “grateful” that the tribunal granted its question to disregard the commercialized secrets claims.

“As we person said each along, Move’s lawsuit is a sham. Nothing much than a transparent effort by the relation of the flailing Realtor.com to lash retired astatine Homes.com, which has acold surpassed Move’s website successful the marketplace. Brokers emotion Homes.com, and its ’your listing, your lead’ model,” the spokesperson wrote.

“Realtor.com’s attack of selling disconnected leads is atrocious for brokers, and atrocious for consumers. After yet different reversal successful Court against CoStar, Move should driblet its nonsensical case, absorption connected fixing its breached concern model, and walk its ineligible fees connected defending the people enactment lawsuit that accuses Realtor.com of selling fake leads to brokers.”