Legal

FTC wins court order to shut down alleged mortgage relief scheme

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday announced that it secured a court order to shut down an alleged mortgage relief scheme. The regulator says the scheme referenced federal homeowner assistance programs to collect upfront fees from financially distressed borrowers while failing to deliver promised loan modifications. A judge for the U.S. District Court for […]

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Fair housing groups sue CFPB, Vought over ECOA fair lending rule

A coalition of fair housing and economic advocacy groups sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and acting director Russell Vought on Wednesday, seeking to block a Trump administration-backed rule they say would weaken longstanding protections against lending discrimination. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenges changes made last month by the

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Judge orders MRED to restore Zillow listing feeds in Chicago

Chicagoland area listings are back on Zillow and Trulia as of Friday afternoon, after Chicago-based federal Judge John Tharp, Jr. granted in part Zillow’s preliminary injunction motion seeking to prevent Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) from suspending its listing feeds.  On Monday, Zillow filed the motion in its antitrust lawsuit against MRED and Compass International

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Everything you need to know about Zillow’s listing war with MRED and Compass

The battle between Zillow, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) and Compass International Holdings, reached a zenith this week when MRED suspended its IDX and VOW listing feeds to Zillow and Trulia. This came after the portal allegedly refused to cure what the MLS called a “material breach” of its license agreements. MRED claims that, according

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The MRED Zillow legal fight just hit agents and sellers directly

Real estate professionals across the Greater Chicagoland area awoke Wednesday to find their listings removed from Zillow, as the fight between the listing portal giant and the local MLS, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), which already includes an antitrust lawsuit, escalated.  On Wednesday morning, MRED announced that it was suspending listing data feeds to Zillow

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Zillow seeks injunction as MRED threatens data feed cutoff

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is threatening to suspend its listing data feeds to Zillow Group websites, including Zillow.com and Trulia.com, unless Zillow cures what the MLS says is a material breach of its license agreements by late Tuesday. In an announcement on Monday, the Illinois-based MLS said it will cut off Zillow’s IDX and

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Mortgage Connect noncompete ruled unenforceable in PA

The lawsuit that prompted Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson to issue a warning letter to Mortgage Connect last week has dealt the company a significant legal blow. As the FTC scrutinizes Mortgage Connect for deploying “unjustifiable noncompetes,” a Pennsylvania judge ruled that the company’s contract was so “sweeping” and “overbroad” that it’s

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Amended lawsuit against Veterans United cites bait-and-switch tactics

Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint against Veterans United Home Loans, owned by Mortgage Research Center, adding claims of “bait-and-switch” and misleading advertising tactics, according to court filings reviewed by HousingWire.  The original complaint filed in February alleges the lender misled homebuyers into believing it is connected to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), while

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Real estate antitrust and commission lawsuits, week in court update

It has been a busy week in the courts and HousingWire is here to update you on all of the real estate lawsuit developments.  The Compass v. NWMLS battle continues Compass is seeking to dismiss the counterclaims asserted against it by Northwest MLS (NWMLS), according to a motion filed last Thursday.  In the filing Compass

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Texas judge dismisses Colony Ridge discrimination lawsuit

A federal judge in Texas dismissed with prejudice a high-profile discrimination lawsuit against Colony Ridge Development while sharply criticizing a proposed settlement agreement that would have directed millions of dollars toward infrastructure and immigration enforcement rather than compensating alleged victims. In an order filed on April 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern

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