Keker, Van Nest & Peters won an appeal on Monday, with the U.S. Court of Appeals reviving most of client CREXi’s antitrust counterclaims against industry rival CoStar in a unanimous opinion issued on Monday, Law.com and other media outlets reported.
The opinion found that CREXi successfully stated claims under state and federal antitrust laws, alleging plausibly that CoStar had monopolistic control over relevant markets. The opinion also stated that CREXi “plausibly alleged that CoStar engaged in anticompetitive conduct by entering into de facto exclusive deals with brokers and imposing technological barriers to entry into the markets.”
“We’re pleased with the court’s ruling,” said Nick Goldberg, a partner with Keker and lead counsel for CREXi on the appeal. “For too long, CoStar has bullied the commercial real estate industry. Today’s opinion is a step in the right direction, and we look forward to holding CoStar accountable for its anticompetitive conduct.”
CoStar filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in September 2020, accusing CREXi of copyright infringement and breach of contract. CREXi denied the allegations and filed a countersuit accusing CoStar of unlawful monopolization in violation of federal and state law. The district court dismissed the counterclaims with prejudice in February 2023, which Keker successfully appealed.
In addition to Goldberg, who argued the appeal, the Keker appellate team includes Elliot Peters, Warren Braunig and Dan Jackson.
The decision was reported in The Recorder, Law360, Bloomberg Law and the Daily Journal (paywalls).