A federal court has denied Zillow’s request for a preliminary injunction against Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) in its ongoing legal dispute with the MLS and Compass International Holdings. 

MRED said the Sept. 15 preliminary injunction ruling is a victory for MLSs, brokers and the cooperative real estate marketplace nationwide. 

Zillow, on the other hand, said the ruling “is a step back for Chicago home buyers and sellers, at least temporarily.” While the company said it is disappointed with the ruling, they “remain committed to fighting for a fair and transparent housing market,” something the company says MRED and Compass are jeopardizing to “line their own pockets.” 

The preliminary injunction hearing requested by Zillow was held July 1–2 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The hearing focused on whether Zillow could continue enforcing its ban on MRED’s listing feed while its lawsuit against Compass and MRED proceeded toward trial. 

During the hearing, Zillow Chief Industry Development Officer Errol Samuelson said the company’s concern with Compass’ private listing model was that it routes buyers only through Compass agents. He said Zillow’s brand promise is to “show everything on the market” and that the company could lose consumer trust if it could not show everything for sale. 

At the time, Devin Daly Huerta, senior corporate communications lead with Compass, told Chicago Agent magazine that Zillow’s ban hurts consumers and “serves to entrench Zillow’s dominance and block consumer choice.” Compass said MRED’s PLN exists to give sellers control, privacy and flexibility and has existed for more than 10 years without complaint. 

The July hearing included testimony from executives and representatives of all three companies, including MRED Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer Chris Haran, MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen, Compass Regional Vice President Fran Broude, Compass International Holdings CEO Robert Reffkin and Zillow CFO Jeremy Hofmann. Expert witnesses Lawrence Wu and Debra Aron also testified. 

MRED said it “stood its ground” to protect a fundamental MLS principle: brokerages receiving other brokerages’ listing data may use it on their consumer sites if they follow applicable licensing requirements and display all listings approved for distribution. MRED also said the ruling reinforces the ability of MLSs to consistently enforce their rules and data licensing agreements. 

“Someone must ensure competitors follow the same rules and prevent powerful companies from deciding what the rules are for everyone else,” MRED said in a statement. 

Compass International Holdings also characterized the ruling as a victory for consumers, real estate professionals and brokerages. 

“Today’s ruling is a clear victory not just for Compass International Holdings and MRED, but for consumers, real estate professionals, brokerages and everyone in the real estate industry that wants to compete freely on behalf of their clients,” a Compass International Holdings spokesperson said in a statement. “This decision affirms that choice belongs to the homeowner, and any effort to punish consumers for exercising that choice is anti-competitive and harmful to consumers. Real estate professionals have a fiduciary duty to serve their clients; Zillow does not.” 

Zillow’s case against MRED has now been moved to private arbitration.