Move, Inc. Responds to Ruling on Motion Regarding Spoliation
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Move, Inc., a subsidiary of News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV], today provided the following statement in response to Judge O'Donnell's ruling on its motion regarding spoliation in the company's ongoing trade secrets litigation with Zillow, Inc. and former Move employees Errol Samuelson and Curt Beardsley:
"This important ruling validates our claim that one of Zillow's top executives, Curt Beardsley, acted with 'willfulness and bad faith' in destroying evidence, and his actions have 'prejudiced plaintiffs' ability to prosecute their case.'
We welcome the judge's decision that there will be a jury instruction, which will allow the jury to 'infer the missing evidence would have benefited plaintiff's case or alternatively hurt the defendant's.'
The judge also addressed Mr. Beardsley's claim that his misconduct was motivated by his embarrassment about pornography use by noting that 'the logical corollary to his decision to delete pornography is that he would be equally motivated to cover up his alleged perfidy in connection with misappropriated Move documents.'
Today's decision, when combined with the powerful evidence that has not been destroyed, will help us prove our case that our trade secrets were stolen and abused by the defendants to their advantage.
This case has cost Zillow – and their shareholders – more than $40 million so far, making the two poached executives among the most expensive in corporate history. And one of those senior executives was found by this court to have engaged in 'egregious' conduct that represents 'an undermining' of the principles which make our system of justice work: 'honesty, fairness and compliance with the rule of law.'
That Zillow, which has known of such wrongful conduct for many months, has continued to employ someone like this as one of its chief ambassadors to the real estate industry raises serious questions.
We look forward to presenting all these issues to the jury beginning on June 6. We believe that this decision is an important first step toward holding the defendants accountable for their harmful and unlawful behavior."
About Move, Inc. and realtor.com®
Move, Inc. operates the realtor.com® website and mobile experiences, which provide buyers, sellers and renters of homes with the information, tools and professional expertise they need to discover and create their perfect home. News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] acquired Move in November 2014, and realtor.com® quickly established itself as the fastest growing online real estate service provider as measured by comScore.
As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, consumers know they can look to realtor.com® for the most comprehensive and accurate information anytime, anywhere. With relationships with nearly 800 multiple listing services (MLS), realtor.com® has more than 3 million for-sale listings, which account for more than 97 percent of all MLS-listed for-sale properties. More than 90 percent of the listings are updated every 15 minutes. Move's network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools, including Doorsteps®, Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNet℠ and others. Move supports real estate professionals by providing many services to grow their businesses in an increasing digital, on-demand world, including ListHub™, the nation's leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead®; Top Producer® Systems; and FiveStreet℠ and Reesio as well as many free services.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance as of the time the statements are made. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global economic, business, competitive market and regulatory and other factors. More detailed information about these and other factors that could affect future results is contained in News Corp's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The "forward-looking statements" included in this document are made only as of the date of this document, and we do not have any obligation to update publicly any "forward-looking statements" to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Move, Inc.
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