Move and CoStar exchange barbs in trade secrets case

This week saw a flurry of updates in the trade secrets lawsuit from Move, Inc — parent company of Realtor.com — against CoStar. 

Both companies filed motions and declarations which shed more light on what information may have been viewed, downloaded or deleted. Move continues to claim that former employee James Kaminsky accessed confidential information after leaving Realtor.com and joining the content team at Homes.com, but CoStar — and Kaminsky — deny any wrongdoing.

CoStar revealed in a filing, however, that Kaminsky was placed on paid administrative leave so he can focus on his defense efforts and “to further eliminate any credible claim of imminent or irreparable harm” during litigation. 

In court documents, the companies also accuse each other of delaying the case, and they haven’t been able to agree to the terms of an order of confidentiality or timeframes for discovery. 

Trade secrets — or personal files?

Perhaps the most insightful updates this week to the case were the various declarations filed by employees of both companies, including defendant James Kaminsky, who is at the heart of the dispute. 

In his declaration, Kaminsky described his layoff from Move and how his work computer was also largely utilized for personal use. He said that after learning of his role being eliminated, he downloaded “financial, personal and medical information to the extent it resided on Move’s systems.” Those files, Kaminsky said, included paystubs, tax-related documents, performance reviews, gift cards and photos. 

In response to Move’s claim that Kaminisky wrongfully deleted emails and other information on its servers, Kaminsky said that before leaving the company, he “did not have time to carefully prune the selection of emails” containing personal information that he wanted to delete for privacy concerns, so instead, he “erased the majority of my emails and electronic files to prevent them from being seen” after he returned his computer to the company. He described doing so as “basic privacy hygiene.” 

Additionally, Kaminisky said that as the sole provider for his family, his layoff put him under immense stress and pressure to find new work. Before leaving Move, he gave his personal email access to his old articles and documents relating to his termination, he said. 

“I had no interest in saving these documents, sharing these documents, or using those documents for any reason beyond short term help in generating job hunting materials for myself. I gave myself what I assumed would be temporary access to them in the most transparent and public way I know: literally putting my name on them,” Kaminsky wrote. 

Battling in court and in the media

In the blustery court filings this week, lawyers for both companies complained about the other’s use of the media throughout the legal process. 

Move lawyers said the company “did not leak the news of the suit to any media” and claimed that CoStar leadership — specifically CEO Andy Florance and General Counsel Gene Boxer — “ran to the media” to respond to the lawsuit and “focused on attacking Move in the media.”

And despite the action from Move and Realtor.com, company lawyers said that Move is “not trying to stop Kaminsky from working at CoStar or CoStar from creating a competing product.” 

Florance has repeatedly described the lawsuit as a “PR stunt” to trade media — telling Real Estate News that the claims are “laughable” —  and CoStar lawyers claim that it was Move that “initiated” the media coverage. 

“A company with credible worries about trade secret theft wishes to determine the facts, and to do so quickly. Move, on the other hand, seeks to hide the ball while milking a one-sided story in the press,” CoStar attorneys wrote. 

“Move seeks to delay the truth-seeking process and instead wants to rush to a hearing to try to secure a ‘win’ for PR purposes on an incomplete record.”