In its ongoing battle with CoStar, the parent company of Realtor.com is not giving up without a fight.
Initially filed by Move Inc. in July, the lawsuit centers on James Kaminsky, a former Realtor.com employee who went to work at CoStar-backed Homes.com after being laid off by the Move subsidiary. In the suit, Move alleges that Kaminsky stole documents and trade secrets from Realtor.com, which he then provided to CoStar to fuel the rapid growth of Homes.com.
The company’s latest filing comes roughly two weeks after California District Court Judge George H. Wu denied Move’s motion for a preliminary injunction against CoStar. Move now claims that Kaminsky violated the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) by accessing Move-owned documents roughly 40 times after he was laid off by Realtor.com in January 2024.
Under the CFAA, individuals are prohibited from “intentionally accessing a computer without authorization or in excess of authorization.” But the law also “fails to define what ‘without authorization’ means,” according to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
The law includes a maximum prison sentence of 10 to 20 years for obtaining national security documents, accessing a computer and obtaining information, extortion involving computers, and six other hacking offenses. The attempt and conspiracy to commit a CFAA offense carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Move’s filing claims that by removing personal information and documents from his Move-owned computer and then accessing Realtor.com-owned documents pertaining to the News & Insights team after his termination, Kaminsky was in violation of the CFAA. Additionally, Move claims that is was unable to recover the files that Kaminsky allegedly destroyed.
Move also continues to allege that Kaminsky shared the documents he accessed with CoStar, which it claims CoStar used to boost user traffic on Homes.com. Move claims Kaminsky’s actions caused it more than $5,000 in damages, which satisfies the CFAA’s threshold to allow victims to take private action.
“Mr. Kaminsky’s attack on Move’s protected computer systems, both as an individual and a CoStar employee, caused significant harm — and certainly more than $5,000 in damages,” the filing states. “Move spent substantial time and resources investigating the nature and scope of the breach, taking steps to secure its computer systems and engaging a forensic expert to assist.”
If Wu grants Move’s latest motion, the company would be allowed to file a second amended complaint and begin discovery.
In an emailed statement, CoStar chief legal counsel Gene Boxer expressed gratitude over the court denying Move’s request for a preliminary injunction.
“The Court’s opinion underscores what CoStar has said all along — Move’s case is built on baseless speculation, not fact. As we have said from the beginning, this case — which Move has tried to weaponize in the press — is a PR stunt in response to the fact that Move is failing in the marketplace. Putting aside the inaccuracies in Move’s theory, Move’s complaint also fails as a matter of law,” Boxer wrote.
“CoStar has therefore moved to dismiss several of Move’s claims as legally deficient, including because Move has failed to plead the requisite damages or that CoStar ever accessed any Move documents, computer, or information. Whether at this phase or at the conclusion, CoStar is confident it will ultimately prevail in this case, on both the facts and the law.”
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