Lawyers Weigh In on Compass, Zillow’s Antitrust Argument

Brad Weber, a co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Antitrust Practice, was quoted in the December 5, 2025 Housingwire article, “Lawyers Weigh In on Compass, Zillow’s Antitrust Argument.”

• “If the defendants are able to show some pro-consumer benefits that outweigh the anticompetitive nature, and of course there are exceptions, but the majority of the cases where this happens, the defendants win,” Bradley Weber, the co-chair of Troutman Pepper Locke’s antitrust practice group, said.

• …

• In contrast, Weber feels that Zillow presented a strong case, as he feels the crux of Compass’s claim is that Zillow has a duty to deal with Compass on its terms, which he said is a very challenging type of claim to prove in an antitrust case.

• …

• Differing Opinions

• As no one company has a duty to deal with another, in order to prevail, Weber said Compass would have to show that Zillow had a pre-existing voluntary and presumably profitable course of dealing with Compass.

• “This would be that Zillow is dealing with Compass, in terms of allowing Compass to list properties on the Zillow platform, and that by terminating it, it showed a willingness to forsake short-term profits to achieve an anti-competitive end,” Weber said. “Compass didn’t even really try to argue that in my opinion, and I haven’t seen any information on the policy reducing Zillow profits or that it had some anti-competitive motive.”

• In Weber’s mind, Zillow presented a compelling case that the rule was designed to create more transparency by ensuring that consumers can see all available inventory. “To me, it makes sense that it would benefit consumers to have a one-stop shop where they could look at all the listings instead of having to go to each brokerage’s site to see them,” Weber said.

• …

• While Weber and McAvoy disagree on which party made a better case, they do agree that whichever way the judge rules on the preliminary injunction motion will provide some insight into which way the judge is leaning in the overall case, based on the evidence presented thus far.

• However, Weber noted that less can be read into the motion being denied, as that could simply just mean that Compass was unable to meet the burden of showing that it is likely to prevail at trial.

• “But I do think that if the court denies the injunction that would tend to indicate that the court is agreeing with Zillow’s position,” Weber said.

• Regardless of the outcome, he said he will closely be watching for the judge’s opinion as he feels the wording will provide valuable insight into how the court views the case.