Costar Wants Its Zillow Lawsuit To Remain In New York

CoStar and Zillow are continuing their legal sparring in CoStar’s copyright infringement lawsuit. On Wednesday, CoStar filed a letter addressed to New York City-based U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos responding to Zillow’s request to move the lawsuit to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. 

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

In its response letter, CoStar notes that the images at the center of the lawsuit relate to rental listings in 49 states, but “almost 1 in 10 of the infringements relate to properties within 100 miles of the courthouse.”

CoStar said it filed the case in New York due to this concentration of infringement and because the New York rental market is “central to Zillow’s rental business.” The Andy Florance-helmed firm also points out that both parties have a significant presence in New York. 

“There is no question that New York drives Zillow’s rental business. Last month, Zillow acknowledged that New York accounted for nearly one-quarter of the annual real estate market’s growth across the entire U.S.,” the filing states. “The jurisdiction pivotal to Zillow’s growth — and therefore its incentive to build its platform through infringement — is New York.”

In an emailed statement, CoStar’s general Counsel Gene Boxer claimed that “Zillow’s bid to change the venue isn’t about fairness or convenience—it’s about gamesmanship and delay.” 

“But the venue for this case is exactly where it belongs: New York, where Zillow’s misconduct lands hardest and where its bad behavior is already under more than one legal microscope,” Boxer added. 

Earlier this week, CoStar pushed back against Zillow’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.