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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