A Washington state superior court judge on Monday granted a preliminary injunction against Zillow in a trade secret lawsuit over its recent hiring of Errol Samuelson, who was a chief strategist for Move Inc (realtor.com) based in San Jose.
The two online real estate companies are direct competitors. Samuelson joined Zillow in March.
Move runs realtor.com, the official site of the National Association of Realtors. The plaintiffs contend that Samuelson left with some of its trade secrets and asked the court for a preliminary injunction to prevent Samuelson from disclosing them and any NAR confidential information to Zillow, and Zillow from using any of it.
King County Superior Court Judge Barbara Linde granted the preliminary injunction until the case is concluded, in a ruling that indicated she thinks Move has a good chance of winning its lawsuit.
We don t comment on ongoing litigation, said Zillow spokeswoman Katie Curnutte.
Move Inc. also declined to comment on the lawsuit.
