A company that helps agents share information about pocket listings has sued Zillow, claiming the search portal represented itself as a potential investor in order to steal trade secrets and launch a “copycat product,” Zillow’s “coming soon” feature.
In its complaint, Top Agent Network Inc. (TAN) claims that Zillow approached the company in January “under the guise” of a possible investment in TAN, gaining access to confidential and proprietary information.
Zillow has not answered the complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. A spokeswoman said the company does not comment on pending ligation.
TAN, which announced in January that it had acquired the domain PocketListings.net, claims to operate a network of 4,700 members in 30 markets who are responsible for the sale or purchase of about $15 billion in pre- and non-MLS home sales annually.
TAN describes itself as a “private, member-only community open to the top 10 percent of real estate agents” in markets served. Members use the network to “share, discuss, and retrieve” pre- and non-MLS listings, the complaint said.
