Zillow's Letter Responses to Compass

Not a fullblown Answer, but a couple of illuminating responses

What I imagine the weekend was like for Zillow’s lawyers

This is Part 2, which I promised in my first post about the preliminary injunction fight.

I wrote there and in the post about the Complaint that we really can’t evaluate the legal arguments until we see the Answer from Zillow. We didn’t get that yet, and Zillow still has time to work on a formal Answer. In fact, it looks like Zillow will file a formal brief opposing the preliminary injunction as well as making a motion to dismiss. But because PIs are about speed, Zillow’s lawyers sent two letters to the judge in charge of the case on Monday.

These letter responses are unusual and are not strictly speaking, legal filings. The letters say as much, and ask for more time to file the proper opposition brief. These letters are meant to help the judge make decisions in a hurry, and Zillow’s lawyers burned the midnight oil over the weekend to make sure the judge knew their position. I assume a full legal filing will happen this week sometime.

Nonetheless, these letters do provide real insight into Zillow’s position on the lawsuit, so they are worth digging into. Well, one is… since the second is legal procedural inside baseball stuff about expedited discovery.

This is not legal advice, and I am not your lawyer. This is edutainment and industry analysis. Please consult your own attorney for actual legal advice.

Let’s get into it.