SCL Partner Harrison McAvoy was recently quoted in two articles about antitrust litigation in the real estate brokerage industry, specifically Compass’s lawsuit against Zillow, which challenges Zillow’s rules for brokers and home sellers and the marketing of homes.
In Law360’s article, titled “Antitrust Experts Weigh In On Compass v. Zillow,” Harrison offered his thoughts on Compass’s claim that Zillow conspired with its competitor, Redfin:
Harrison McAvoy, an antitrust partner at Shinder Cantor Lerner LLP, said it’s likely that Compass will beat a motion to dismiss on its first claim because it alleged sufficient “plus factors,” or indications of a conspiracy in the absence of outright proof.
“One big plus factor is the conspirator acting against its own self-interest,” said McAvoy. “If Zillow, one of Redfin’s competitors, is going to not include Compass listings, it might be in Redfin’s self-interest to show those listings, and have a more comprehensive set of listings than Zillow.”
For the full article from Law360, click here (paywall).
In the article from HousingWire, “Is Zillow a monopoly? Lawyers weigh in on Compass’s suit,” Harrison was quoted regarding Compass’s claim that Zillow is a monopolist:
“That is crucial for monopolization claims, as when you are at 50% to 60% market share, you are very much in the zone for monopoly power,” Harrison McAvoy, a partner at antitrust focused law firm Shinder Cantor Lerner, said. “It seems that they are on strong ground there.”
* * *
“This is more of a monopolization complaint,” McAvoy said. “To have a monopoly power you need to have monopolization conduct, which is essentially excluding a competitor or potential competitor, which is what Compass is alleging Zillow is doing with this policy.”
This being said, McAvoy is not writing off the allegations of collusion, saying that it will depend on the evidence presented.
For the full article from HousingWire, click here.
