Titans Of Real Estate In $2B Trade Secret Battle

One is called “Move,” and it operates Realtor.com for the National Association of Realtors. The other is Zillow, which probably more people have heard of because of its catchy advertising slogan on public radio. Their niche is the real estate listing business. Move, this post from HousingWire.com explains, “is claiming that Zillow owes the company $2 billion in damages over allegations of trade secret theft involving Errol Samuelson, who was once Move’s chief strategy officer.” Zillow, in a legal filing, mocks what it derisively calls the plaintiff’s “huge case,” noting they claim “$2 billion in damages, assert 46 separate trade secrets (not including the 1000-plus documents claimed as trade secrets in their entirety) and have assigned at least 29 different lawyers to prosecute their claims.” Move, meanwhile, tells HousingWire.com that it has a mountain of evidence, including proof that all kinds of documents were destroyed and devices wiped clean, and that this case may prove to be for Zillow “a very regrettable act of executive poaching.”