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.
Media Contact:
Janice McDill
Janice.mcdill@move.com
408-558-4620
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/move-inc-responds-to-ruling-on-motion-regarding-spoliation-300271175.html
SOURCE Move, Inc.