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Seven Realtors who filed a class-action lawsuit against Realtor.com parent company Move, alleging the sale of unvetted and fraudulent leads, have seen the case moved to federal courts. The move was made based on the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), which states that federal courts have jurisdiction over class action lawsuits meeting specific criteria.
The lawsuit involves Realtors from across the U.S. who have used Move’s lead generation services in the past four years, resulting in an amount-in-controversy exceeding $5 million. As a result, the case has been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
According to Bloomberg Law, the Notice of Removal is a significant development in the lawsuit, but the plaintiffs’ counsel can still request to move the case back to state court. Move has declined to comment on the removal request, while the plaintiff’s counsel has not responded to requests for comment.
The lawsuit, filed in August, alleges that Move, NAR, News Corp, and Opcity were involved in selling unvetted leads through various platforms, including Realtor.com. The plaintiffs claim that a significant portion of these leads were of low quality or unverifiable, leading to demands for refunds that were not adequately addressed by Realtor.com.
This case marks a crucial point in the ongoing legal battle between the Realtors and Move, shedding light on the alleged practices of selling fake leads and their impact on the real estate industry.
The plaintiffs alleged that senior executives, managing agents, managers, directors, and officers at News Corp, Move, Realtor.com, and NAR were aware of the complaints but chose to ignore the purported sale of unvetted and fraudulent buyer and seller leads. In response to these claims, an NAR spokesperson stated that their legal team would address the accusations in court.
For more information, feel free to contact Marian McPherson.