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oStar has secured another victory in its ongoing legal battle against Move, the parent company of Realtor.com. A US District Court judge in Los Angeles dismissed two claims made by Move in its amended complaint, citing a lack of evidence. The dismissed claims alleged that CoStar and former Realtor.com editor James Kaminsky had violated federal and state trade secret laws.

    The lawsuit, initially filed by Move in July, accused Kaminsky of stealing documents and trade secrets from his former employer after being laid off. He allegedly used this information to fuel the growth of Homes.com, a platform backed by CoStar. The judge's ruling allows Move to revise and refile its claims within three weeks.

    This latest setback for Move follows previous losses in the case. In September, Judge Wu denied the company's motion for a preliminary injunction, citing a lack of evidence that it had suffered imminent harm. The legal battle between Move and CoStar is fueled by their rivalry over online residential listing platforms. Realtor.com claims to be the second most-trafficked site after Zillow, while CoStar argues that its Homes.com platform has surpassed Realtor.com in traffic.

    CoStar's digital portfolio includes Apartments.com and 15 other sites, with an average of 84 million unique page visitors per month in Q2 2023. The company launched a $1 billion advertising campaign this year to gain dominance over the sector. A CoStar spokesperson called Move's lawsuit "a sham" and accused the company of trying to deflect attention from its own struggles.

    This is not Move's only ongoing legal battle. The company, along with the National Association of Realtors and News Corp, was named in a class action lawsuit filed by eight real estate agents in August. The suit alleges that the group defrauded agents by selling them fake leads on properties and failing to disclose changes to contract terms.