CoStar agrees to move copyright case from Zillow to Seattle

A month earlier, Zillow had filed a letter asking Judge Edgardo Ramos, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, if it would be possible to transfer the lawsuit to Seattle, where he claims the lawsuit should have originally been filed. In a response brief also filed in early October, CoStar noted that the images at the center of the lawsuit involve rental listings in 49 states, but that “nearly 1 in 10 of the violations involve properties within 100 miles of the courthouse.”

CoStar said it filed the case in New York because of this concentration of infringement and because the New York rental market is “central to Zillow’s rental business.”

The lawsuit, originally filed by CoStar, accuses Zillow of “rampant” copyright infringement of rental listing photos. The complaint alleges that Zillow’s unauthorized use of CoStar images amounts to one of the largest real estate image infringement cases in history.

In its November motion, Zillow noted that while there are several reasons why it might want to transfer the case, the biggest factor is that 10 likely witnesses, including employees in its product, engineering, leasing, sales/partnerships, AI/Z estimate, support, disposal processes and finance functions, are almost all in the Seattle area.

According to CoStar, this now makes it susceptible to transferring the case.

While CoStar said it does not oppose the transfer, it did say it wanted to reserve the right to challenge Zillow’s factual and legal allegations in Zillow’s transfer request as the case continues, whether or not it is transferred.

Additionally, CoStar pushed back against Zillow’s insinuation that it is using this legal action as a means of “competitive maneuvering,” calling it a “bizarre” claim.

CoStar also addressed claims that one court could be more favorable than another, claiming that as a result of the ruling in the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by VHT against Zillow in Seattle, in which it had to pay $4 million in damages, that the Ninth District could be more favorable to CoStar than the Second District.

In an emailed statement, CoStar general counsel Gene Boxer wrote that the company is “focused on a quick, fair decision.”

“We do not oppose transfer because Zillow has admitted that Zillow designed and implemented its plan in the Western District of Washington,” Boxer added. “Additionally, since CoStar filed suit, two major class actions addressing core aspects of Zillow’s business – diverting leads and steering consumers toward expensive mortgages – are now underway in the same Seattle courthouse. We look forward to proving our claims under Ninth Circuit law and holding Zillow accountable in its own backyard.”

Zillow isn’t back yet HousingWire‘s request for comment.