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Judge orders Zillow and Redfin to provide docs in $100M rental syndication case

2026-02-09 22:06
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Judge orders Zillow and Redfin to provide docs in $100M rental syndication case

A legal filing submitted last week requests a number of communications between Zillow and Redfin employees related to the firms' rental syndication agreement. The post Judge orders Zillow and Redfin t...

A legal filing submitted last week requests a number of communications between Zillow and Redfin employees related to the firms’ rental syndication agreement.

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It looks like portals Zillow and Redfin will have to cough up more documents in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against them.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Porter has ordered Zillow and Redfin to provide a number of documents and data, as requested by the FTC and the attorneys general of Virginia, Arizona, New York, Connecticut and Washington, according to a filing submitted last Thursday.

The lawsuit alleges that the $100 million agreement between the two companies — which lets Zillow syndicate, and serve as the exclusive source of, multifamily rentals on Redfin while Redfin sends Zillow leads — eliminates competition in the rental listing space.

However, Zillow and Redfin have argued that the agreement between the two companies is pro-consumer because, among other things, it makes more rental listings accessible to potential renters.

Zillow and Redfin asked the judge to throw the case out in mid-January. A hearing on their motion to dismiss the case is scheduled for later this month. In the meantime, discovery has continued in the case. As of late January, Zillow and Redfin said they had turned over more than 500 documents.

In the legal filing dated Feb. 5, 2026, Judge Porter specifically requested the two portals provide communications between Zillow Group CEO Jeremy Wacksman and Redfin’s (now former CEO) Glenn Kelman related to the rental syndication agreement. The judge also asked for any related communications between Wacksman and Zillow’s board.

The filing also requested communications between Zillow co-founders Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink and Redfin representatives, as well as any communications between Zillow Counsel Brad Owens and Redfin’s counsel. The court additionally asked for any communication between Owens and “other internet listing services” on which Zillow was not copied.

Other Zillow employees, including Steve Lake, Emily Eustis, Matt Smith and Arnaud Berube, were also asked in the judge’s filing to provide declarations explaining their roles at Zillow and their involvement in the syndication agreement.

Zillow and Redfin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit is one of several that Zillow is currently engaged facing. Others include a case filed by Compass that also features antitrust allegations. A judge recently denied Compass’s request in that case to halt Zillow’s listing access policy.

Email Lillian Dickerson

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