The Compass Preliminary Injunction Brief

The next phase of the fight between Compass and Zillow is potentially the most important. Compass is asking the court for a preliminary injunction to stop the enforcement of ZLAS, while the rest of the lawsuit goes on. We knew this, and I wrote about their initial filing here. Then I wrote about Zillow’s letter response here, noting that Zillow will be filing a full brief at some point.

The reason why the PI fight might be even more important than the full trial is that Compass really can’t have Zillow continually enforce ZLAS for the next few years while the case makes its way through the courts. If Compass truly is being harmed by Zillow’s ZLAS policy, then it could win the legal battle and lose the war. So this PI motion is extremely important for both sides.

What we look at today is the full brief from Compass in support of the PI motion. I expect that we will see a full response brief from Zillow in the not too distant future.

This is going to get long; it’s going to get complicated. Compass obviously read Zillow’s letter response, and its brief contains counterarguments. Being that we only have one side of the story, the analysis will likely be very biased. I have noted in the past that good legal briefs make you agree with them 100%… until you read the other side’s arguments, and then you agree with them 100%.

The entire argument, and the outcome of the PI motion, I think likely turns on a key factual question: Is Zillow attempting to regulate the industry?

Let’s get into it. As always, I am not your lawyer, and none of this is legal advice. Please consult your own lawyers and competent antitrust counsel.